WCW Main Event
| WCW Main Event | |
|---|---|
 WCW Main Event logo | |
| Also known as | NWA Main Event |
| Created by | Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling |
| Starring | SeeWorld Championship Wrestling alumni |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multicamera setup |
| Running time | 60 minutes per episode |
| Original release | |
| Network | TBS |
| Release | April 3, 1988– January 3, 1998 |
WCW Main Event,originallyNWA Main Event,is an American televised wrestling program ofWorld Championship Wrestling(WCW) that aired from April 3, 1988[1]to January 3, 1998.[2]For most of its run, it was thepromotion's secondary show and aired on Sunday evenings onTBS.The show originally aired in 1988 asNWA Main Event.The rights toWCW Main Eventnow belong toWWE.
History[edit]
Jim Crockett Promotions'sNWA World Championship Wrestling,along with its predecessor (Georgia Championship Wrestling), were Saturday night mainstays on TBS for almost 30 years. Throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s, these two Saturday night wrestling programs were also complemented with a Sunday night wrestling program titledBest of World Championship Wrestling.The Sunday editions were mostly presented as a magazine format, featuring sit-down interviews with wrestlers and footage from other GCW and JCP television programming. In later years, airings of the Sunday edition became infrequent, as these airings were frequently pre-empted by TBS' coverage of theAtlanta Bravesand theAtlanta Hawks.
In early 1988,Ted TurneraskedJim Crockett, Jr.to create a new Sunday evening wrestling show featuring exclusive "main event caliber" matches. In 1988,NWA Main Eventmade its debut. The debut episode featured amain eventmatch pittingRic Flair,Arn AndersonandTully BlanchardagainstSting,Lex LugerandBarry Windham.The show proved to be an instant ratings success. Due to surmounting losses, Crockett was forced to sell JCP in November 1988 to Turner, who renamed the organization World Championship Wrestling.
The format forWCW Main Eventkept one match that was regarded as "main event caliber" and would almost always feature one of WCW's top stars. Often, two or more matches would be featured, but by 1995 the format for the program slightly changed.Main Eventwould feature, in addition to its one featured match at the end of the program, matches that had aired onWCW Pro,WCW Saturday Night,andWCW WorldWideearlier in the weekend. WhenWCW Monday Nitropremiered later in 1995, matches from that program would also be featured.
On pay-per-view nights,Main Eventwould always air live from the venue where the pay-per-view was taking place and would feature multiple matches involving mid-carders and up-and-coming stars.
Title changes[edit]
Throughout the years,WCW Main Eventhas had numerous title changes.
- The Young Pistols(Steve ArmstrongandTracy Smothers) defeated The Patriots (Todd ChampionandFirebreaker Chip) to win the WCW United States Tag Team Championship on December 15, 1991 (taped November 5, 1991)
- Ron SimmonsandBig Joshdefeated The Young Pistols (Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers) to win the WCW United States Tag Team Championship on February 16, 1992 (taped January 14, 1992)
- Dick SlaterandThe BarbariandefeatedThe Fabulous Freebirds(Jimmy GarvinandMichael Hayes) to win the WCW United States Tag Team Championship on July 12, 1992 (taped June 25, 1992)
- Ron SimmonsdefeatedBig Van Vaderto win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on August 16, 1992 (taped August 2, 1992)[3]
- Stars and Stripes(The PatriotandMarcus Alexander Bagwell) defeatedPretty Wonderful(Paul OrndorffandPaul Roma) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship on September 25, 1994 (live show)
- Arn AndersondefeatedJohnny B. Baddto win the WCW World Television Championship on January 8, 1995 (live show)
- KonnandefeatedOne Man Gangto win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship on February 4, 1996 (taped January 29, 1996)
The WCW gauntlet[edit]
In 1989, Turner also added a Friday night (later moved to Saturday mornings) wrestling show calledNWA Power Hour.With three wrestling shows on TBS, WCW execs decided to create a unique feature called "Running the Gauntlet", which would have a select wrestler compete on all three TBS wrestling shows on a particular weekend, with the objective of winning all three of their matches (including singles and tag matches). Any wrestler who successfully ran the gauntlet won (kayfabe) $15,000. If a wrestler failed to win any one of their matches, their three scheduled opponents in their failing effort (including a loss or a draw) would split the $15,000. The Gauntlet format was eventually dropped in 1990/91. Only two wrestlers (The Steiner Brothers) managed to successfully run the gauntlet.
PPV pre-shows[edit]
In the mid-1990s,WCW Main Eventwould be used as a live pre-show that aired before most WCW pay-per-view events. These special episodes would be used not only to promote the pay-per-view, but also to have special matches - which at any other time would be considereddark matches- prior to the pay-per-view. The lastWCW Main Eventepisode to serve as a PPV pre-show aired July 7, 1996, leading up toBash at the Beach.
One episode ofWCW Main Eventoriginated live in an outdoor environment: the episode prior to the1995 Bash at the Beach.
Later years and the end[edit]
Starting August 24, 1996, the show moved from its established Sunday evening time slot to Saturday mornings. Starting around 1997,WCW Main Eventwas re-tooled as a recap show with some "exclusive" matches. On January 3, 1998, the show was cancelled and was replaced byWCW Thunderwhich was launched 5 days later.
References[edit]
- ^"NWA/WCW The Main Event 1988".thehistoryofwwe.com.
- ^"NWA/WCW The Main Event 1997".thehistoryofwwe.com.
- ^The Main Event – 8/16/92: Ron Simmons (sub. for Sting) pinned WCW World Champion Big Van Vader (w/ Harley Race) to win the title with a powerslam at 9:42 after avoiding the powerbomb -History of WWE: WCW 1992, retrieved October 24, 2023