Dawning Of A New Day Begets The End Of The NWA

Posted on July 10, 2014 by bdamage1

Brian Damage

Sure, I realize that the official end to Jim Crockett’s run came in 1988…but for whatever reason…I still always saw Jim Crockett’s finger prints all over WCW. Yes, that is despite the train wreck that was Jim Herd and his “ingenious” moves like the Ding Dongs and Norman the Lunatic. It still (to me anyway) had a Crockett feel to it. Despite the ridiculous characters that were being spewed out by Herd…deep down…wrestling was still the basis for the company.

I admit, it had a different feel to it…but with guys like Sting, Lex Luger, Big Van Vader, Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors and Ric Flair…it still to me, was the old Jim Crockett Promotions with a more modern update to it.

After all, Ted Turner was a fan of that type of wrasslin’. He always supported it and carried it on his cable TV stations. So even though Jim Crockett was no longer around and despite some outlandish gimmicks…this was STILL the National Wrestling Alliance……right?!?

My big wake up call didn’t happen until March of 1994….yes it took me 6 long years to accept JCP (Jim Crockett Promotions) was far removed from the wrestling business. Mean Gene Okerlund visited the set of Thunder in Paradise to interview the star..Hulk Hogan. It was apparent then…despite the lack of internet spoilers…that Hogan was on his way to WCW. On an episode of WCW Saturday Night…Tony Schiavone made the emphatic announcement that Hulk Hogan had signed with World Championship Wrestling. It was an announcement that never really registered with me until he came down the streets of Disney MGM Grand Studios for a ticker tape parade with “thousands” of Hulkamaniacs cheering him on. Then of course…we all saw Hulk sign his WCW contract to make it “official.”

Nothing against the Hulkster…he has his own big place in the wrestling business. He is/was a mega star who helped change and define the face of professional wrestling. He would also…a couple of years after signing his contract…reinvent himself and help change the fortunes of WCW with the infamous NWO angle. It was just at that moment in time…he was in the wrong place. He didn’t fit…it was equivalent to when Dusty Rhodes jumped to the WWF and wore polka dots. It never made much sense.

Seeing Hulk Hogan on a Turner station was in some ways devastating. I understand now why they signed Hogan, but back then it killed me. Growing up, I was a fan of both the NWA/WCW and the WWF. Hulk was a WWF guy…he was more flash to Ric Flair’s substance. The WWF at that time was good for watching larger than life characters come to life…where as I always felt that WCW was the place to truly appreciate the art of pro wrestling. With the Hogan signing, it was “officially” over for me. WCW was no longer the place to see 60 minute classic time limit draws between Ric Flair and Barry Windham or Ricky Steamboat. It was no longer the place to see the greatest tag teams like the Rock n Roll Express battle the Midnight Express. The Dungeon of Doom surpassed the Four Horsemen as the top stable. Managers like Jim Cornette and Paul Jones were replaced by Jimmy Hart and “The Master” Curtis Iaukea. Jim Ross and Bob Caudle became Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan. It wasn’t horrible…just different.

I finally saw what WCW became..not what I hoped it still was. The NWA was no longer the powerhouse it once was. Jim Crockett Promotions was truly gone. I don’t say these things to disparage WCW…because it eventually transformed albeit briefly into the biggest promotion in the world. It changed wrestling for the better. It gave fans the dream match they were deprived of in Ric Flair’s WWF stint.

The Hulk Hogan that WCW initially got had worn out his welcome in the ever changing WWF. He was a square peg that was forced into a round hole. It didn’t all come together until the day he transformed into “Hollywood Hogan.” JCP officially became WCW in October of 1988…it wasn’t until June of 1994 that I finally accepted it.