386The PPV buy-rate was reportedly 7.0. Some sources claim the Survivor Series achieved around 500,000 buys.
387Tickets for the CCTV presentations of Starrcade ranged from $10 to $12. A report in the Philadelphia Daily News claimed that 65 cities were a part of the CCTV “network.” The event was offered at the Philadelphia Civic Center on a 15-by-20-foot screen. Philadelphia Daily News, November 20, 1987, p. 81. Starrcade brought in $1.3 million. Wrestling Observer Newsletter, January 4, 1988, p. 4.
388Jim Crockett and Dusty Rhodes reportedly worked out of the Dallas office. Jim Barnett, a former member of the NWA and a big influence on the rise of the WWF, joined JCP and also worked out of the Dallas office in 1987.
389Interestingly, UWF Wrestling/Universal Wrestling Federation and Power Pro Wrestling remained in TV guide lineups throughout 1988. The final UWF TV edition was on December 26, 1987.
390Valiant played baseball at Fishburne Military Academy in Virginia with Vince McMahon Jr. Pittsburgh Post Gazette, June 9, 1988, p. 19.
391Minneapolis CityBusiness, September 10, 1986, p. 17.
392Wrestling Observer Newsletter, February 22, 1988, p. 2.
393RJS Marketing was run by Robert “Bob” Syers out of offices in Ossining, New York. Broadcasting Magazine, April 25, 1988, p. 58D. Syers originally worked for Syndicast Services and arranged to keep the AWA syndication package when he formed his own company. Swimming with Piranhas: Surviving the Politics of Professional Wrestling by Howard T. Brody (2009) p. 104.
394Wrestling Observer Newsletter, May 16, 1988, p. 2.
395D Magazine, February 1988.
396Brody: The Triumph and Tragedy of Wrestling’s Rebel by Larry Matysik and Barbara Goodish (2007).
Chapter 20
397Wrestling Observer Newsletter, June 27, 1988, p. 5.
398It was also mentioned that some “NWA” wrestlers (Midnight Express, Fantastics) were going to be in Oregon “this coming week” for shows in Medford and other locations.
399Owen and JCP held two other joint promotions in 1989, one on January 11 in Seattle, and the other on January 12 in Portland.
400Salem Statesman Journal, November 23, 1988, p. 9.
401Portland Oregonian, November 24, 1988, p. E2.
402Portland Oregonian, December 3, 1991, p. C1.
403Portland Oregonian, June 4, 1992, p. D3.
404Salem Statesman Journal, December 2, 1988, p. 13.
405Kansas City Star, January 2, 2001, p. A1.
406Jarrett described the situation with World Class in his autobiography, The Best of Times by Jerry Jarrett with Mark James (2011), p. 215–223. Additional details in Wrestling Observer Newsletter, November 14, 1988, p. 1.
407Wrestling Observer Newsletter, February 29, 1988, p. 3.
408Wrestling Observer Newsletter, February 8, 1988, p. 1.
409The Bash was distributed by Request Television, Home Premiere Television, and Turner Network Sales. Broadcasting Magazine, April 25, 1988, p. 75.
410Ibid. Also see Wrestling Observer Newsletter, February 29, 1988, p. 7. Regarding the sale of video cassette tapes, see Television/Radio Age, May 25, 1987, p. 62.
411Charlotte Observer, May 25, 1988, p. 1A.
412Wrestling Observer Newsletter, April 15, 1985, p. 25, and December 30, 1985, p. 4.
413Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 3, 1988, p. D2. Also Broadcasting Magazine, November 14, 1988, p. 60.
414Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 3, 1988, p. D2.
415Charlotte Observer, November 3, 1988, p. 1B.
416Los Angeles Times, June 7, 1985.
417Financial Post, April 5, 1986, p. 13.
418Interview conducted on July 20, 1998, by wrestling historian Greg Oliver for his Slam! Wrestling website. http://slam.canoe.com/SlamWrestlingArchive/jul20_santana.html.
419New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 4, 1985, p. D-8.
420Portland Oregonian, October 8, 1985, p. D9.
421Channels magazine, January 1989, p. 39.
422Channels magazine, January 1989, p. 40.
423Unnamed, undated article, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, April 15, 1985, p. 4.
424Indianapolis Star, September 26, 1985, p. 52.
425Playboy, February 2001, p. 64.
426Sports Illustrated, March 25, 1991.
About the Author
Tim Hornbaker is the author of eight nonfiction books, including National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling and Capitol Revolution: The Rise of the McMahon Wrestling Empire. His biography Turning the Black Sox White was nominated for SABR’s Larry Ritter Award and the Seymour Medal in 2015. He lives in Tamarac, FL, with his wife, Jodi.
DISCOVER ONLINE
In 1997, World Championship Wrestling was on top. It was the number-one pro wrestling company in the world, and the highest-rated show on cable television. Each week, fans tuned in to Monday Nitro, flocked to sold-out arenas, and carried home truckloads of WCW merchandise. It seemed the company could do no wrong.
But by 2001, however, everything had bottomed out. The company — having lost a whopping 95% of its audience — was sold for next to nothing to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. WCW was laid to rest.
What went wrong? This expanded and updated version of the bestselling Death of WCW takes readers through a detailed dissection of WCW’s downfall, including even more commentary from the men who were there and serves as an object lesson — and dire warning — as WWE and TNA hurtle toward the 15th anniversary of WCW’s demise.
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Copyright
Copyright © Tim Hornbaker, 2018
Published by ECW Press
665 Gerrard Street East
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4M 1Y2
416-694-3348 / [email protected]
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Editor for the press: Michael Holmes
Cover design: David A. Gee
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Hornbaker, Tim, author
Death of the territories : expansion, betrayal and the war that changed pro wrestling forever / Tim Hornbaker.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-77041-384-9 (softcover).
also issued as: 978-1-77305-232-8 (ePub),
978-1-77305-233-5 (PDF)
1. Wrestling—United States—History—20th century. 2. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.—History. 3. WrestleMania—History. I. Title.
GV1198.12.H676 2018 796.8120973 C2018-902528-X C2018-902529-8
Death of the Territories Page 32
