Death of the Territories

by Tim Hornbaker

  Owen was steadfast in his ways and known for his fairness. But when his gates decreased, he had to lower payouts to his employees. To that point, he’d survived where 99 percent of his contemporaries had failed and made it into the 1990s as an active promoter. On December 28, 1991, his television outlet KPTV-12 canceled Portland Wrestling because of dismal ratings and inflated studio costs, and Owen’s promotion had no TV outlet for the first time since the early 1950s. He told the Oregonian, “Economic bad times, that’s all there is to it. Everybody’s hurting right now. We go into these little towns and half the mills are closed. I’m just like everybody else, a victim of hard times.”402 Just before KPTV’s decision, Owen had lost his primary sponsor, Tom Peterson’s of Portland, a popular retailer of appliances, furniture, and electronics, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October 1991.

  Between 1988 and ’91, Owen put his Pacific Northwest heavyweight title belt around the waists of Tatsumi Fujinami, Scotty the Body (Scott Levy), Brian Adams, Steve Doll, the Grappler, Carl Styles, and Rip Oliver, among others. Even Billy Jack Haynes returned to the PNW for a final reign as titleholder in 1991. On May 30, 1992, Owen announced his retirement, closing out his 60-plus years, involvement in wrestling at age 80. “To tell you the truth, when I got up to tell the people that after 68 years, I wouldn’t be doing this anymore, my eyes filled up with tears,” he admitted. “But there comes a time when you’ve got to pack your grip and quit.”403 Owen’s promotion had lasted five months without TV and could have continued to struggle along. But he ended his career with dignity and accomplished one thing he’d always wanted. “When I quit,” he had told a reporter in 1988, “I want to quit on my own.”404 And he did. Owen was the longest-running promoter and NWA member from the old territorial days to finally call it a career, and his decision marked the end of an era.

  Central States promoter Bob Geigel didn’t stick with the NWA as Owen did, severing his connection to the organization in late 1987. Subsequently, he founded the World Wrestling Alliance, an independent group headquartered in Kansas City. The WWA crowned an inaugural world heavyweight champion on January 23, 1988, and a local grappler, Mike George from St. Joseph, beat Dick Slater in a tournament final to become the first titleholder. Geigel took Ken Mantell up on his offer to collaborate and saw wrestlers from Dallas, including Kerry Von Erich and Chris Adams. On July 16, 1988, George and Von Erich wrestled to a double count-out in a title versus title bout. Despite the name talent, crowds remained less than impressive at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City.

  Later in 1988, Geigel reestablished his working relationship with Verne Gagne, and brought in grapplers from the AWA as well. Shohei “Giant” Baba of All Japan coordinated an extraordinary television taping stacked with talent in Kansas City with Geigel on February 2, 1989. The Funk Brothers, the British Bulldogs, the Rock and Roll Express, Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Tiger Mask, and other international celebrities were on the card, but it flopped at the box office. Only 300 people were in attendance. Geigel was forced to cancel several succeeding programs because of lackluster interest, and he eventually shuttered the WWA for good. Upon retirement, he took a job at the Woodlands racetrack as a security guard and looked back upon his career with fondness. “It was great for a long time,” Geigel told a reporter. “Quite a ride.”405

  The Memphis–World Class–AWA cooperative was seemingly a beneficial venture in 1988, and fans enjoyed a string of matches between AWA champion Jerry Lawler and WCCW titleholder Kerry Von Erich. Their feud was essential viewing in Memphis and Dallas, and patrons at the Mid-South Coliseum witnessed a classic 60-minute Broadway on July 25 and saw Lawler win the World Class championship on October 23. Kerry then regained that strap on November 4 in Dallas. During this heightened partnership, Jerry Jarrett’s Memphis promotion was in a commanding position based on its strength. In fact, World Class was in much worse financial condition than anyone realized, and the company needed well over $100,000 to square its debt. The rent at the Sportatorium hadn’t been paid in months, and Ken Mantell abruptly quit near the end of July, leaving World Class without an experienced leader. As good as Kevin and Kerry Von Erich were in the ring, they weren’t businessmen who could administer the Dallas office.

  Needing immediate help, the Von Erichs contacted Jarrett, and the Memphis promoter traveled to Dallas in an advisory capacity. He examined the company’s “books,” and devised a plan to save World Class by offering to invest his own capital and taking over day-to-day control of the business.406 He’d become the majority shareholder with 60 percent interest, and Kerry and Kevin would split the remaining stock. The brothers agreed, and around October 1988, the deal was finalized. With Jarrett in charge and crucial help from Eric Embry and Frank Dusek in the World Class office, the Dallas promotion was completely revamped. The old-school Texas wrestling methodology was now being interwoven with Memphis philosophies.

  Representatives from the CWA, AWA, and World Class met at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville a few weeks before Jarrett’s deal went through to announce a massive joint promotion, SuperClash III, scheduled for December 13 in Chicago. At the press conference (filmed in conjunction with an ESPN taping in Nashville on September 17) were Jarrett, Kerry Von Erich, Jerry Lawler, Verne Gagne, AWA president Stanley Blackburn, and several other dignitaries. SuperClash was touted as the “biggest event” in wrestling history, and the CWF, PWOW, “Japan,” Don Owen, and Bob Geigel were also said to be on board. Gagne admitted that putting the program together had been extremely difficult, and he was no doubt being candid. Not only were the specifics of lining up the venue, obtaining cable systems for pay-per-view availability, and arranging the talent a challenge, but he had to reach a compromise with promoters over match finishes, particularly the main event between Lawler and Kerry. It was obvious their feud was already overcooked, but it was believed to be the most marketable bout they had to offer. The fact that it was a “title unification” match made the contest even more significant.

  SuperClash, however, was an unmitigated disappointment. Fewer than 1,700 fans turned out to see the spectacular at the UIC Pavilion, and the PPV buy-rate was 0.5. The Lawler–Von Erich affair was memorable, but the finish was marred as referee Marty Miller halted the action because Kerry had suffered a cut near his eye and there was too much blood. Kerry had appeared to be on his way to victory, but Miller stopped the bout in concern for the wrestler’s safety. Lawler became double champion, holding both the AWA and WCCW world title belts. But in the aftermath of the show, turmoil between Jarrett and Gagne caused an irreparable split, fracturing the CWA–AWA alliance forever. Takes on the dispute varied, depending on the source, and ranged from general mistrust to a failure to pay talent for SuperClash appearances. On January 20, 1989, Gagne officially stripped Lawler of the AWA world belt, but the King remained the unified world heavyweight titleholder in all regions controlled by Jarrett.

  That title lineage continued when Jarrett created the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) later in 1989, encompassing both the now-defunct CWA and World Class. But World Class was revived in September 1990 by Kevin Von Erich after a falling-out with Jarrett, lasted a handful of months, and went out of business for good. Jarrett was more resilient, and despite losing Lawler to the WWF in late 1992, he survived as an independent promoter until 1997. Verne Gagne was not so fortunate. He crowned Larry Zbyszko, his son-in-law, AWA champion on February 7, 1989, and strived to rebuild with Scott Norton, Colonel DeBeers, Ken Patera, the Destruction Crew, and JCP castoff Nikita Koloff. A Team Challenge Series was fostered to stir interest, but was unpopular, and worked against Gagne more than helped him. Live shows were becoming less and less frequent, down to once or twice a month, and finally ceased in August 1990. Gagne filed for bankruptcy the following year. Everyone knew that professional wrestling had turned into a two-promotion race, and Vince McMahon wanted to put more distance between himself and Jim Crockett. McMahon was playing a ruthless game of hardball, and dug into his
rival whenever the opportunity arose. Prior to big JCP shows in New York and Chicago, McMahon ran programs in the same cities with his top stars in an effort to draw attention. Just before SuperClash in Chicago, his company informed the Illinois State Athletic Commission about Kerry Von Erich’s prosthetic in the hopes the latter would be blocked from performing. And in a nod to Dusty Rhodes, he named Ted DiBiase’s manservant Virgil, which was Dusty’s actual first name.

  Despite his huge advantage in the wrestling war, McMahon refused to let up on his foes, and JCP had to fight for every gain. Crockett planned for his first shot at a national pay-per-view audience on January 24, 1988, with the Bunkhouse Stampede Final from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. McMahon reacted by scheduling a Royal Rumble that same night, presented live on the USA Network. While he might not have been able to deter JCP loyalists from ordering the PPV, McMahon might’ve convinced some middle-of-the-road fans to watch a free program on cable instead of coughing up money for one. Crockett still garnered a 3.5 buy-rate and roughly 200,000 homes, giving him a nice victory.407 And Dusty Rhodes won the Bunkhouse Stampede to boot (literally). At Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan eliminated One Man Gang to win the Rumble. The show attracted an 8.2 rating and a 12 share, making it the highest-rated program in USA Network history.408

  On February 5, 1988, the WWF took another gigantic step by putting on pro wrestling’s first live primetime special in more than three decades on NBC. Presented from Indianapolis, The Main Event featured the long-awaited rematch between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant and drew an astonishing 15.1 rating (25 share), the highest rating in American wrestling history. Andre pinned Hogan to end Hulk’s four-year reign as WWF champion and then sold the belt to Ted DiBiase. It was soon revealed that Earl Hebner, not the assigned Dave Hebner, refereed the match, and he had refused to acknowledge when Hogan kicked out of Andre’s pin attempt. Fans were shocked at the turn of events, and Hogan responded by tossing Earl from the ring. WWF president Jack Tunney vacated the championship and put it up for the winner of a huge 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV on March 27, 1988.

  Crockett fought fire with fire and booked the first-ever Clash of the Champions for WTBS that same evening with a better lineup of matches. Crowd favorite Sting wrestled NWA champion Ric Flair to an impressive draw in the main event, and Lex Luger teamed with Barry Windham to capture the world tag belts from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. The program achieved a 5.8 rating (12.6 share). Overall, there was no stopping WrestleMania from financial success, but JCP’s wrestlers at the Clash outperformed their WWF counterparts, and scrutinizing viewers condemned many aspects of McMahon’s card. The tournament itself was lacking, especially considering that a blurb in WWF Magazine had referred to Randy Savage as the heavyweight champion, which kind of spoiled the action. Savage did end up the titleholder, going over Ted DiBiase with a big assist from Hulk Hogan. WrestleMania IV had 585,000 pay-per-view buys.

  The Hogan–Andre rivalry extended into the summer and was the highlight attraction at WrestleFest on July 31, 1988, in Milwaukee, drawing more than 25,000 spectators. Hogan took a victory in a cage. A week later, the WWF offered its first program in Greensboro, in the heart of Crockett country, and Hogan beat Andre by disqualification before 3,600 people. On August 29, Hogan and Savage partnered up to beat Andre and DiBiase in the main event of SummerSlam, the promotion’s second pay-per-view of 1988. Also, the Ultimate Warrior, fast becoming one of the top babyfaces in the company, pinned the Honky Tonk Man in 27 seconds to capture the Intercontinental championship. Again, the WWF had a financial windfall, thanks to pay-per-view sales (over 900,000 buys), but the show was panned by critics. In terms of talent, McMahon signed “Big” Bubba Rogers (renamed the Big Bossman), Bad News Allen (Brown), Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect), and Terry Taylor (Red Rooster). The loss of Rogers, the Rock and Roll Express, and Michael Hayes didn’t exactly help Jim Crockett and Dusty Rhodes in early 1988, but their focus was on resurrecting turnout. TV format, style, and production issues were addressed, and Jim Ross joined the WTBS commentary team. Ole Anderson made a surprise return to aid Lex Luger against the Horsemen, and Luger’s regular tag partner Barry Windham turned on him to join the exclusive heel group in April. Windham went on to win the United States title in a May tournament in Houston, giving the Horsemen a lock on the NWA world title (Flair), the world tag (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), and the U.S. strap (Windham). Luger found a new teammate in Sting, and the duo was victorious in the third Crockett Cup in April. Among the major feuds over the first part of 1988 were the Midnight Express–Fantastics, Road Warriors–Powers of Pain, and, of course, Luger–Windham.

  On July 10, 1988, a Great American Bash pay-per-view was held in Baltimore at the Arena, and the “Match of the Century,” Flair versus Luger, was the headliner.409 As with Lawler–Von Erich at SuperClash, their match was stopped after 23 minutes when the Maryland State Athletic Commissioner deemed Luger’s blood loss to be too significant for him to continue, and Flair was declared the winner. And just like at SuperClash, Luger appeared to be moments away from winning the bout via submission with Flair in his Torture Rack. Fans were cheated out of a clean finish yet again, and those in the audience let JCP officials hear their displeasure. In another contest, a three-level 10-man Tower of Doom battle occurred, and fan favorites the Road Warriors, Jimmy and Ronnie Garvin, and Steve Williams defeated Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotundo, Ivan Koloff, Al Perez, and the Russian Assassin. Elsewhere on the Bash tour, which stretched from June 26 to August 7, a number of War Games matches took place around the country, from Charlotte to Inglewood, and the Horsemen were vanquished every time.

  In recent years, the relationship between Jim Crockett Promotions and Turner Broadcasting System, owned by Atlanta’s media mogul Ted Turner, had improved measurably. Turner Home Entertainment, a subsidiary of TBS, assumed marketing and distribution for JCP wrestling video cassettes, and in February 1988, it was announced that the company was joining forces with Crockett in the pay-per-view field as well.410 The Great American Bash was their first joint effort, and Crockett extended his WTBS contract through 1994. During the spring of 1988, however, rumors about Turner purchasing JCP were revealed, and the Charlotte Observer mentioned the sale price “could be” in excess of $10 million.411 This wasn’t the first time Turner had expressed interest in JCP. In 1985, he was said to have been “involved” in some capacity with Crockett, and was perhaps looking at an ownership or partnership agreement, but the situation apparently never worked out.412

  But with Crockett in financial jeopardy in 1988, Turner entering the picture was a very real possibility. Insiders shrugged off questions about negotiations, but serious talks went on for months as attorneys wrangled over the details. The fact was, JCP was being consumed by debt, and Crockett was desperately trying to stave off bankruptcy. His obligations to Bill Watts had only been partially paid, and he had taken out personal loans to meet payroll and other expenses. Blame for the condition of the company, in spite of good revenue, TV ratings, and a lineup of talented grapplers, was leveled in all directions, but mostly landed on the two men at the top of the pyramid: Jim Crockett and Dusty Rhodes. Company finances had been mismanaged, and the escalating crisis was largely ignored until there was no turning back. Crockett had to sell.

  On Wednesday, November 2, 1988, the sale was announced, and Turner took over that same day.413 Jack Petrik of TBS was installed as the president of the newly fashioned Universal Wrestling Corporation, the subsidiary of Turner’s company that would handle all things pro wrestling. Crockett was kept on as vice president, and Rhodes retained his booker position, at least for the time being. The UWC attained all current contracts, including those of the wrestlers, TV syndication, and arenas, and it acquired the physical assets of JCP. “NWA programming has been a highly successful part of the Superstation’s schedule for many years,” Turner told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “With the formation of [the] Universal Wres
tling Corp., TBS and Jim Crockett Promotions have combined resources to further expand the marketing efforts and scope of the NWA worldwide.”414 Crockett added, “The new company will insure that [JCP] wrestling continues to grow and venture into areas which will give it expanded recognition and awareness.”415

  Although some publications claimed Turner had bought the NWA; that was an incorrect statement. Turner only bought JCP, and the National Wrestling Alliance maintained its independence as a nonprofit Iowa corporation. The leaders of the UWC realized its conundrum in marketing NWA as an exclusive brand and changed the name to World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

  The end of Jim Crockett Promotions was a remarkable moment in wrestling history. While JCP hadn’t technically been a territory since it began to expand nationally, it was the most successful of the old groups outside of the WWF, and was an important symbol of opposition to Vince McMahon. And World Championship Wrestling would continue to give McMahon a run for his money going into what would be a new phase of the wrestling war.

  Back in 1985, Red Bastien, in noting the rise of Vince McMahon, had stated that “There [was] still room for the other guys.”416 That was a nice thought, but really, there wasn’t much room at all among the heavyweights of the business. It was a two-horse race, and whatever room was left for the “other guys” was limited by the lack of star-caliber talent. But with the disintegration of the territorial system, room opened up for independent promotions across the wrestling landscape. Led by inventive and resourceful promoters, these organizations interjected new concentrations of creativity into their programs to earn the loyalty of local audiences. They had to generate their own stars, find their own television deals, and attempt to maintain a small geographic area in competition with the WWF and WCW and their far superior product. The indies had heart, though, and the wrestlers, officials, and promoters loved the business at its purest level.