WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING

'World Championship Wrestling' ('WCW') was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001.^[1]
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, 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. The promotion ended in 2001 when it was sold to the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E). Sex, Lies and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation, , Shaun, Assael, Crown Publishers, ,

Contents

History

Final champions

Under WCW banner

Under WWF banner

Footnotes

WCW in other media

Championships and accomplishments

WCW programming

References

See also

External links

History

Main articles: History of World Championship Wrestling

Although the name "World Championship Wrestling" had been used as a brand and television show name by various promotions affiliated with the NWA since 1982, (most notably Georgia Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions) it was not until five years later that an actual NWA-affiliated promotion called World Championship Wrestling appeared on the national scene, under the ownership of media mogul Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia.
At the outset of WCW's existence, as well as with the promotions that came before it, the company was strongly identified with the Southern style of professional wrestling (or rasslin'), which emphasized athletic in-ring competition over the showmanship and cartoonish characters of the WWF.^[2] This identification persisted into the 1990s, even as the company signed former WWF stars such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. WCW dominated pro wrestling's television ratings from 1996 to 1998 (84 straight weeks) mainly due to its incredibly popular New World Order storyline, but thereafter began to lose heavy ground to the WWF, which had recovered greatly due to its new "Attitude" branding.Repetitive story lines and bad bookings eventually led the promotion to began losing large amounts of money, leading to parent company AOL Time Warner selling the name copyrights and tape library to the WWF for $2.0 million in 2001.

Final champions

Under WCW banner

Championship	Final champion(s)	Date won	Event
WCW World Heavyweight Championship	Booker T	March 26 2001	''Nitro''
WCW United States Championship	Booker T	March 18 2001	''Greed''
WCW World Tag Team Championship	Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire	January 14 2001	''Sin''
WCW Cruiserweight Championship	Shane Helms	March 18 2001	''Greed''
WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship	Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio	March 26 2001	''Nitro''

Under WWF banner

Championship	Final champion(s)	Date won	Event
WCW World Heavyweight Championship	Chris Jericho	December 9 2001	''Vengeance''
WCW United States Championship	Edge	November 12 2001	''Survivor Series
WCW World Tag Team Championship	The Dudley Boyz	October 23 2001	''SmackDown!''

Footnotes

★ Unified with the WWF Championship at Vengeance 2001.^[3] The belt design was later reintroduced as the WWE sanctioned World Heavyweight Championship in September 2002.

★ Unified with the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Test. Reactivated in 2003 as the WWE United States Championship.^[4]

★ Unified with the WWF Tag Team Championship at Survivor Series 2001. Survivor Series 2001 results

★ Kept active after WCW and renamed WWF Cruiserweight Championship after The Invasion.^[5]

WCW in other media

From 2000 to late 2001 there where a series of monster trucks based off of wrestlers' names. These include, nWo (2000), Sting (2000-2001), Nitro Machine (2000-Currently Inferno), Madusa (2000-Present), Goldberg (2000-2001). The first to go was nWo which only ran for a season. Next all but Goldberg, Nitro, and Madusa were retired after the WCW sponsor was lost. Nitro then became Flashfire then was converted into Inferno. Madusa has stayed as the same name ever since it was created. As for Goldberg it was then changed to Team Meents in 2002 then into Maximum Destruction which debuted in 2003.

Championships and accomplishments

★ NWA World Heavyweight Championship¹ 1988-1992

★ NWA World Tag Team Championship² 1992

★ NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)''³ 1988-1991

★ NWA United States Heavyweight Championship 1988-1991

★ NWA Mid-Atlantic/World Television Championship 1988-1991

★ NWA United States Tag Team Championship 1988-1991

★ NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship 1988-1991

★ WCW World Heavyweight Championship 1991-2001

★ WCW United States Heavyweight Championship 1991-2001

★ WCW Cruiserweight Championship 1996-2001

★ WCW World Tag Team Championship 1991-2001

★ WCW World Television Championship 1991-2000

★ WCW Light Heavyweight Championship 1991-1992

★ WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship 2001

★ WCW Hardcore Championship 1999-2000

★ WCW United States Tag Team Championship 1991-1992

★ WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship 1991

★ WCW International World Heavyweight Championship 1993-1994

★ WCW Women's Championship 1995-1997

★ WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship 1996
¹The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was defended in World Championship wrestling until WCW was withdrawn from the National Wrestling Alliance in September 1993.

²The NWA World Tag Team Championship was briefly defended in WCW beginning on July 12, 1992. The title was unified with the WCW World Tag Team Championship on September 21, 1992 and was defended until WCW's withdrawal from the NWA, resulting in the two championships being separated once more.

³This title was considered the "unofficial" NWA World Tag Team Championship until a tournament was held in 1992 to declare an official NWA World Tag Team Championship for the first time in NWA history. This version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was renamed the WCW World Tag Team Championship in January 1991.

WCW programming

Throughout its history, World Championship Wrestling (and its predecessor, Jim Crockett Promotions) presented several wrestling programs.

★ ''WCW Monday Nitro '' (1995 – 2001)

★ ''WCW Thunder'' (1998 – 2001)

★ ''WCW Saturday Night'', aka ''WCW Saturday Morning'', ''Georgia Championship Wrestling'', and ''World Championship Wrestling'' (1971 – 2000)

★ ''World Championship Wrestling: Sunday Edition'' (1973 – 1987)

★ ''WCW WorldWide'', aka ''World Wide Wrestling'' (1975 – 2001)

★ ''WCW Pro'', aka ''NWA Pro Wrestling'' and ''Mid-Atlantic Wrestling'' (1985 – 1998)

★ ''WCW Main Event'', aka ''NWA Power Hour'' (1989 – 1992)

★ ''WCW Power Hour'', aka ''NWA Power Hour'' (1989 – 1992)

★ ''WCW Prime'' (1995 – 1997)

★ ''WCW Clash of the Champions'' aka ''NWA Clash of Champions''

References

1. I was famous for getting beat up': The glorious and tragic story of Carolina wrasslin Jordan Green
2. Sex, Lies and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation, , Shaun, Assael, Crown Publishers, ,
3. Chris Jericho defeats Stone Cold Steve Austin to become Undisputed Champion
4. History of the United States Championship
5. History of the Cruiserweight Championship

See also

★ Jim Crockett Promotions

★ Monday Night Wars

★ List of WCW pay-per-view events

★ List of World Championship Wrestling alumni

★ Nitro Girls

★ The Alliance

External links

★ WWE.com's WCW World Heavyweight Championship History

★ WCW Title Histories

★ ★ class=wikiexternal target=_blank>/http://www.wcw.com WCW on the Wayback Machine

★ DDT Digest - "The Unofficial Resting Place Of WCW"

★
★ The History of WCW, Part I

★
★ The History of WCW, Part II

★
★ The History of WCW, Part III

★
★ The History of WCW, Part IV

★
★ The History of WCW, Part V

★ The Complete History of WCW

★ Mid-Atlantic Gateway - The Website of Record on Mid-Atlantic Wrestling History