National Wrestling Alliance - History - Decline of The Territory System

Decline of The Territory System

In the 1980s, video tape trading and cable television paved the way for the eventual death of the NWA's inter-regional business model, as fans could now see for themselves the plot holes and inconsistencies between the different regional storylines. Also, the presence of stars like Ric Flair on TV every week made their special appearances in each region less of a draw. Vincent K. McMahon, who had bought the WWWF from his father in 1982 and renamed it the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), used these gathering trends to turn his Northeastern territory into the first truly national promotion. To combat this threat, various NWA promoters, along with the AWA, attempted to co-promote shows under the Pro Wrestling USA banner. Internal disputes over power and money, however, caused this deal to eventually fall apart. The AWA ended up owning the group's ESPN timeslot, and used it to broadcast its own weekly shows.

In 1984, McMahon bought NWA member Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and merged it into the WWF, with the WWF taking over GCW's long-time TV slot on TBS. Meanwhile, to hold off the threat of the WWF, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) decided to unify certain NWA territories and "go national" itself. Accordingly, Jim Crockett, Jr. began buying out some of the other NWA member promotions or, in some cases, allowed them to quietly die and just absorbed their rosters. Because of his acquisition spree, and because he failed to consistently match the WWF's ambitious marketing, TV production values, and merchandising, Crockett was facing bankruptcy by 1988. TBS owner Ted Turner bought JCP and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after the popular GCW TV show on TBS. With the backing of Turner’s money, it grew into a national promotion. With time, WCW became the main NWA territory with the JCP versions of the Tag-Team, United States, and Television Champions being recognized on a national scale. Up until this point only the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship had had national recognition. WCW was still a member of the NWA, but with time felt that the NWA needed it more than it needed the backing of the NWA, especially since both WCW and the WWF toured the entire country instead of staying within a confined territory. To make matters even more confusing, WCW spent much of 1992 and 1993 recognizing and promoting both WCW-brand world champions and NWA-brand world champions.

Another promotion that withdrew from the NWA to operate on their own was Mid-South Sports. Originally owned by Leroy McGuirk (who booked the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion for the NWA), the promotion was sold to Bill Watts in 1979. Watts changed the name of the promotion to Mid-South Sports and declined to join the NWA. However, Watts did have a working agreement and exchanged talent with Jim Crockett Jr., allowing him to book the NWA world champion. In 1986, Watts renamed his promotion the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in a bid to expand nationally, but was eventually bought out by JCP in March 1987, after going bankrupt.

In February 1986, promoter Fritz Von Erich withdrew World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) from the NWA in a bid to become a national promotion. He teamed with another former NWA member, the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), and the AWA to try to compete with WCW and the WWF, but the arrangement soon fell apart due to inter-promotional politics. WCCW and the CWA later merged to form the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), which folded in 1997. Abroad, Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) all seceded from the NWA in the mid-1980s, but not many American fans followed or even knew about these promotions.