WWF on WTBS / studio match

[WRESTLINGNUTT1]

the ring is very small

[zakkroks]

I remember seeing this as a kid when it aired! I didn't know what wtf meant back then, but if I had known what it meant, I would have said it! :D:D:D

[josephD32]

I keep reading things about "production values". Um, I grew up watching WWF, and their production values weren't much better back then, and for big events, the NWA actually outdid the WWF on a regular basis up until mid-way through the Monday Night Wars.

[rufus317]

I'm laughing at that NWA World Championship Wresting(later known as WCW Saturday Night) music. I always remember that theme song.

[north5880]

Bundy kept Deke Rivers out of the ring for most of that match while he was attacking Tracey Stohr. Deke was back in there for a few seconds until Bundy's hits hurled him out of the ring.

[Danimal77]

I'm confused about this match. Was this an actual WWF match? Because looking through the records, this does not show up as being a WWF match. Looks like it was an NWA match which was featured on a WWF show. Jimmy Hart wasn't even part of the WWF crew yet at this time (March 1985). Any info on this? Thanks.

[tonoslim]

looks they're wrestling on a king size bed.

[daroofa]

Wow...that ring looks like the one Bobby Heenan and Andre the Giant rode out in at Wrestlemania.

[jackson5781]

what people forget is that the wwf was a territory as well

[ants84]

This was the equivalent to Vince taping RAW at the iMPACT! Zone today, truly bizarre. Thank god it didn't last.

[balboapension]

Wow, production quality was hopeless in this kind of setting. Made sense that it was dropped, especially if fans didn't accept it in that market. The WWF in a short matter of months was putting on way better programming.

[DeepSouthWrestling1]

@balboapension : and the NWA would be putting on even better than WWF programming once Vince got his ass out of Georgia...

[ChadBurk4420]

Whoa this is a trip.

[kingdomoftheworm]

Guys like NWAfan tell the whole truth, ya marks. Double shots were very common in those days for everyone. Also, if you were the NWA champion like Jack Brisco, the Funks, Flair or Race were, the schedule was much more hectic. Sometimes they would have to fly in and out from across the country to wrestle. They'd do a shot in Charlotte in the afternoon, then fly in to Atlanta, or even Memphis, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City or Tampa for a night show in a different NWA territory.

[styx4ever1963]

This announcer=@##%@#%^@#^@#^^#@#@

[Murphdogg4]

I can't believe all the ignorant WWE marks that posted on this video. Have to hand it to them though, they don't let a little thing like not knowing what the hell they are talking about stop them from acting like they do. Damn you Vinnie Mac for what you did to wrestling.

[thewrestlingfan]

As I understand it, Turner was very specific with Vince McMahon about having new matches filmed at the Techwood studio every week. Vince complied with this for a few weeks, but then started showing pre taped matches from the Philidelphia Spectrum, Madison Square Garden, etc. Not to mention that fans in the Georgia area was extremely pissed. So when Vince started losing ratings on WTBS, he sold Georgia Championship Wrestling to the Crockett's for the same price he bought it for. everybodys happy

[jeffjaco]

@thewrestlingfan how many episodes did they do in the studio before they switched to pre taped matches?

[RayNDeere]

@thewrestlingfan Actually, Vince showing taped matches came first, in fact, the whole Black Saturday show had matches from Philly (and maybe a couple other venues), when Ted Turner complained, Vince sent Gorilla Monsoon down to help with the studio matches with Freddie Miller

[TBirdSCIL]

This is absolutely surreal...WWF logo and matches on the traditional NWA card run-down bumpers, Gorilla Monsoon in front of the World Championship Wrestling backdrop, WWF wrestlers in the ring at Techwood Studio...this footage is awesome!

[MrFrenchHeritage]

Lol, look at the size of that ring! Aside from that, this was a cool little moment in professional wrestling history, seeing one of it's greatest federations, the WWF, likned with one of the legendary brand names of wrestling on tv, Georigia Championship Wrestling. It didn't last long, but it will be remembered forever. Just another thing that makes the the 1980s pro wrestlng's best ever decade.

[DeepSouthWrestling1]

@MrFrenchHeritage : It certainly wasn't a "cool little moment" to Georgia wrestling fans... fans who were used to great wrestling, all of a sudden having to watch this... pseudo-wrestling.

[dwlightfoot]

What a bizarre video...Nice to see the beginnings of the classic World Championship Wrestling set from the 80s behind Gorilla Monsoon...on TBS!

[carter2]

Haha why is the ring so small? And WWF owns NWA!!

[lakebay972]

This didn't fail actually. At the time, Vince was strapped for cash and he put all his chips into "Wrestlemania I" and had to make sacrifices. This show was one of them. Somehow along the way, Ted Turner who owned TBS (the network that aired this clip) was pissed off. This started the "Monday Night Wars" that lasted from 1985-2001.

[B3WorldPictures]

The monday night wars didn't start until 1995. This show DID FAIL! The uproar from the people, when they saw Vince McMahon on the screen was huge. NWA was back on in 3 weeks.

[geodeuce]

the ring looks like the size of a kindergarten nap mat LOL

When did Bundy go from Hart to Hennan?

[okrabay]

why did this fail?

[Kjr0se]

I made an error in my message, I meant to say keep and flags, but you know what I was trying to say anyway, so I've got that straightened out.

[Kjr0se]

What they should have done was use the EXACT same ring they used for the NWA shows. except take down the NWA aprons that were around the ring, and put up the WWF ring aprons, and take down the black ropes with the blue and red turnbuckle pads and use their own red, white, and blue ropes and blue and red turnbuckle pads, and kep the flas of the different countries in the studio, and utilize the NWA referees for their telecasts.

[wolfschmidt11]

I have the very first wrestlemania on  video! Don't Miss It! BEEEEEEEEEEE There!

[rpowers3677]

lol the ring

[rattlehead1999]

BEEEEE There!

[johnissoevil]

Everything came full circle in 2001 when McMahon bought WCW out.

[tallman36]

that ring IS smaller

[SaskBlade]

LOL, it says Wrestling Mania on the closed circuit info.

[Area5107]

Ugh, McMahon should of known the south was NWA turf, thank god it became Crocketts NWA 2 weeks later.

[Kjr0se]

I think that WAS an NWA ring, they just put up different ring ropes and turnbuckle pads, they should have kept the ring they were originally using, the ring that had the black ropes, with the blue and red turnbuckle pads, and used a different ring apron instead of the ring aprons that spelled out NWA.

[NAYellowjackets]

Same studio as Championship Wrestling from Gerogia. CWG was at 7:05am on Saturday and WWF was at 6:05pm the old Georgia/World Championship time slot.

[BerlinFan82]

Was Bundy that big or was the ring that tiny? plus the top rope looks extra high.

[josephD32]

They used smaller rings than the WWF does. I think the camera was just positioned lower than we're used to seeing.

[BrickhouseB2]

A great time in the history of wrestling! The North kicked The South's ass (as usual)!

Vince saved America with his brand of wrestling greatness! Hulk Hogan! King Kong Bundy! Randy Savage! Roddy Piper! "Birdman" Koko B. Ware! The Red Rooster! The Gobbeldygooker!!! Wow! WOW!! WOWSIE-WOW-WOW-WOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Gorden Solie couldn't tell the differenc between a wrist lock and a wrist watch!

Seriously.

He had some weird disease. Couldn't tell the difference. Weird.

[86lenny]

Koko, Terry Taylor, and Hector Guerrero weren't even in the WWF at this time.

And the north kicked so much ass that the WWF had half the ratings that Bill Watts Mid-South wrestling had on Sunday nights on the same station. Even Vince will addmit that he got killed on TBS and was rejected by the Southern wrestling fan.

[bwall002]

So let me get this straight, the WWF originally had the classic background that was famous in the NWA from 85-89?

[josephD32]

Nah, this was after WWF had bought out Georgia Championship Wrestling and taking their timeslot on WTBS. Later on, Jim Crockett Promotions would get the timeslots back and do their shows as World Championship Wrestling on WTBS, using many of the same graphics and stuff.

[arridian]

Bundy with a cape...weird.

[phi1166]

perhaps i should read the headline!! DUH!!

[phi1166]

Was this match filmed at WTBS?

[RayNDeere]

Vince was obligated to do studio matches in Atlanta when he bought Georgia Championship Wrestling from the Briscos. Originally, he just aired matches from other shows, which ticked off Ted Turner. Ole Anderson quickly put together another Georgia Wrestling show that ran early mornings on Saturdays. Also, Bill Watts bought time for Mid-South Wrestling on Sunday mornings.

[DrOctagon20]

wait a minute, I'm confused...was wrestlemania originally supposed to be in the Omni in Atlanta? Or was it going to be shown there?

[Mfranklin8]

It was going to be shown there. WrestleMania 1 wasn't shown on ppv. It was only available on closed circuit tv. You had to go to select areas to watch. Even after ppv, in some locations you still had to go to a select location because not every city had ppv access.

[WillStevenson]

Seems like it was destined to fail from the start. See at the end of the rundown for WrestleMania, it was referred to as "Wrestling Mania?" And, the graphic into the commercial still called the show "Georgia Championship Wrestling". Seems like a lot of "little things" that Vince wouldn't normally put up with.

[WillStevenson]

Never mind. I just figured out why it was still called "Georgia Championship Wrestling". My apologies.

[07dunn]

god damn all those event dates no wonder why

wrestlers do painkillers and other drugs

[DrOctagon20]

I don't think EVERY wrestler wrestled on EVERY show. It's possible that some might have been but not all of them.

[pattersongrove]

I never new Tony Schiavone was doing the announcing for wwf and crockette too yes i still call it wwf because that,s what it was before the wildlife assholes.

[mikebryson]

God bless the Brisco brothers! I was so happy to see the WWF kicking the NWA's ass at this time!

[north5880]

You couldn't miss it when Tracy Stohr kicked his foot on the ropes at Jimmy Hart. He couldn't stand Jim's loud mouth during the match.

[Nephilim145]

damn I would have loved to invest in WWF from the ground floor

[tow74]

WWF wasn't a publicly traded corporation then you numbnuts bastard. I remember I was driving home once not sure maybe it was in a dream but I was in Westwood around UCLA and there was this condo I considered breaking into. I didn't though. I ate a popsicle instead.

[Nephilim145]

obviously there are ways to invest in a company before they become an IPO. I never said invest in stock.

[balboapension]

@Nephilim145 Wow, a year ago! But... yes, there are ways. But without a large investment, it doesn't make sense. By large I mean 500,000 - 1,000,000 in liquid capital. It wouldn't make any sense to say "I have 500, so give me 1/5,000,000 share in your company.

Monsoon traded 1/6 of the company for cash and lifetime employment.

[dctrgre]

"Wrestlemania"? that'll never take off...

[skinwalkerxxx]

and that show incredibly bombed

[4Catash]

this makes my stomach hurt. I cant remember this but if i did i would of been really mad

[jlward]

Bizzaro World WWF - Gorilla even calls the program "Georgia Championship Wrestling". Weeeeird! It was like when the WWF started recognizing wrestlers' pasts in other promotions (or when ECW was on Raw in 1997).

[mankind2112]

Yeah, but did he really win? have you looked at that shit lately. I'd say he won the battle but lost the war cause the E ain't wrestling.

[EdgeIsAwesomeness]

Yes, he really won, asshole. Deal with it. WWE has good wrestling and good entertainment.

[dctrgre]

Well... he's a billionaire and the chairman of a global corporation. Every other wrestling promotor is small-time in comparison.

[WrestlingRoundtable]

I can't believe I'm seeing Monsoon on that set!! It's like an alternate universe, like when we saw Vince McMahon open the last Nitro.

-E, Wrestling Roundtable

[AnnacondaVice]

(Bored) there's gonna be 2 hours of excitement...

[yettibrad]

This is so freakin' bizarre.

[mankind2112]

This shit didn't last very long at all - we kicked McMahon's ass out of the South.

[manzi71]

But at the end of the war,look who the winner:VINCENT K McMAHON!

[EdgeIsAwesomeness]

You lost, redneck. Get over it.

[soln4suh]

had no idea that WWF came on the SUPERSTATION! usually you'd associate WTBS with GEORGIA/NWA wrestling!

[1975tooto]

It was one of those try to take over Territories move by Vince McMahon.He had succesfully invaded other areas and this one was his biggest move back then!The fans down their did not buy it and wrote and called the station.So TBS PULLED it by fan demand.Vince never stopped trying and the rest is history.I think theses telecasts only lasted 2 weeks!

[soln4suh]

i hate vince bought the wcw,and the ecw and absorbed them into the wwe (it makes me want to vomit everytime i hear w-w-e! it doesn't even sound right. the national wrestling alliance is no more than a shell of it's former self. mc mahon even bought all of the rights to the AWA and posses nearly ALL pro-wrestling archive footage except for MID SOUTH/UWF! thank goodness!!

[1975tooto]

My wife always tells me she thinks something bad is goin to happen to Vince from all of his ventures.His Dad bought him along thru the Business and he told Jr once you take over the Business what ever you do ,do not try and put the other Territories out of Business.He did everything his Dad told him not to do plus ruined a lot of careers.The WRESTLERS PROMOTED THEMSELVES back then .Vince flip-flopped that and he now controls.The fans should Boycott him! He ruined everything!

[darthchaosofrspw]

Vince Sr. actually told Vince Jr. "you'll wind up at the bottom of a river".

[1975tooto]

Ye he will ,and he is headed for destruction ,no matter how big he is now!!

[EdgeIsAwesomeness]

Bullshit.

[SweetDaddyBugg]

Thank God for promotions like ROH, Dragon Gate USA, PWG and NOAH- otherwise us pure wrestling fans would be up shit creek without a paddle.

[1975tooto]

IT ONLY LASTED 2 WEEKS!! It did not go over with the Fans! Vince has got a set ,doesnt he!

[aj31313]

search black Saturday

[Stuttsy]

Would love to know the airdate on this... I didn't think WWF was on WTBS all the way up until 'Mania I. This is an awesome, awesome find.

[okrabay]

I dont understand this? Did JCP go off the air during this time? How long did this last and what year was all of this?

[brooks5510]

lol i know its already been said but its so weird to hear that music in the background and see WWF at the top...

[TheKid965]

I felt like I slipped into some alternate universe at first.  WWF events being plugged using GCW graphics and music, Gorilla Monsoon in what looked to be the famous WTBS "Saturday 6:05" set... how utterly bizarre!

[tom667]

King Kong Bundy's real name is Chris Pallies. Regarding Wrestlemania, many arenas were selling tickets for fans to view wrestling via closed circuit. Back then, it was hard to get pay-per-view to see this at home.

[Gregb7677]

wow I've heard about this over the years. this was about a year before i discovered WWF and about 3 yrs before I knew the NWA even existed. REALly odd to see this.

[elgrano]

I'm still in shock, I've seen almost every NWA show back in the 80's, never saw this one. Saw this on WWE On Demand two months ago. Michael Cole was saying how down south didn't sit well with the more cartoony WWF, ratings dropped, and Turner Broadcasting forced McMahon to sell the show. I didn't realize how much the south despised the WWF.

[Corndog0202]

My older brother told me about this. He was a huge NWA fan and said people were pissed when this happened. Micheal Cole was completely right the NWA ruled the south, Vince has never really got a stronghold over the southeastern US, and if JCP never tried to expand out of the area they could have survived the 80s

[smoothpants]

You know what's weird about that WM promo? Take out the presence of Mr. T, and block out the WM reference and the WWF logo...and that could have been a classic NWA house show lineup.

[MikeJames6]

How weird to see the Georgia Theme playing in the background of a WWF Show

[Mp25DIII]

Bizarre--absolutely bizarre, probably more bizarre than seeing Shane McMahon show up on the last Nitro. Gorilla looks a little out of place with that Friars Club wardrobe. And what was with the echo on Freddie Miller's mike? Was Vince trying to trick the viewers into thinking it was in a big arena? Also notice that Jimmy Hart is on the opposite of the ring from where the managers usually stood--another Vince idea, I bet-

[loganwi104]

King Kong Bundy, what a last name...maybe someone should come up with a sit-com using the last name of Bundy, and the dad can be a former high-school RB and now a ladies shoe salesman...

[ia74me]

hmmm i dunno. I don't think it would sell. lol

[brysmith07]

Ha! That cape! I thought Bundy was going to suck their blood for a minute there.

[Kjr0se]

Boy, was that EVER a small ring they were using there. They should have used a bigger ring for the studio matches then.

[SaskBlade]

So surreal seeing the WWF on TBS. Needless to say that it wouldn't be on there for too long. I think it was a month or 2 later that Crockett's NWA took over.

[markbuffalo]

this is so messed up seeing them wrestle at the TBS studio with Gorilla Monsoon calling the action.

[xrocinante1]

I never thought I'd see this again. It was a dark time for us old school Georgia Championship fans.

[NICKTUBER80]

it was at this point i think ric flair woudl wreslte at least 4000 days a month.... his ribes would be washed and pressed my sylvester stallone and his hair was quaffed by the ladies at hugh hefners mansion... he was the greatest

[Junkay2]

Did the WWF(E) have trouble playing the bills in those days? The show, or at least this clip, seems to be dominated by commercials.

[Joeyg50]

Yeah this card announcement has a oldschool NWA feel to it.This had to suck for all GCW fans at the time. Blame the Brisco brohers for selling out though. How weird is it to see Monsoon on the NWA set. THis is a great video big ups

[crassyfrake]

it was just so weird hearing a WWF Card(and wrestlemania no less!) advertised with the old school NWA music in the background

[SweetDaddyBugg]

Ditto. I love the old World Championship Wrestling theme- it was old-school, hard-hitting NWA at its best. WWF didn't belong on it.

[phi1166]

how long was wwf on tbs

[JackReeve]

this shows how hard they work

bout 2 days off in a week u gotta respect them 4 tht

[hairbandfan]

Guys like Flair wrestled 380 times a years no 2 days off crap.

[JackReeve]

hey they need time off if benoits death has proved anything they need more time off but yeh 380 days is hardcore no doubt

[ScrotumCancer]

There aren't even 380 days in a year you stupid fuck. Go kill yourself if you're going to keep being a stupid dumbass. The world doesn't need morons like you.

[NWAfan]

Listen you dumbass I grew up in Greensboro lived here 40 years. I have been to 400 plus live shows have 800 plus taped or wrestling. Plus I had a subscription to the wreslting observer from 1987 to 1995 every single week. Plus personal freinds with Bruce Buchanan of Charlotte went to many matches with him. By the Bruce Buchanan is considered by most as the best expert of MACW and NWA from the 60's to the 90's. He has watched over 2000 live shows in 40 years of watching live wrestling.

[maddogwrestlingfan]

Way to tell em NWAfan. I've been a fan 36 years myself. Mid Atlantic was known for those marathon weekend runs... The money the boys made... for that time frame... take care Man....

[hairbandfan]

Hey nut sack NWA fan has forgotten more about wreslting in the last hour than you will every know. He has at least Flair in 1800 matches on tape followed it everyday for 30 years and a 18 year old punk is gonna tell him about wrestling.

[terps2703]

Is it me or is that ring ridiculously small?

[MeAndMyRC]

UGH!! I was so pissed to see WWF on TBS! I was like 'WTF"??? Black Saturday is right, what a bunch of crap!!

[Jeebus]

The first WrestleMania was gonna be in Atlanta!?!?!?

That's news to me.

[Jeebus]

Sorry, just saw the "Live at the Omni via Closed Circuit". My bad.

[BILLY0624]

HOW LONG WAS WWF ON TBS.

[catdaddy2006]

It only lasted maybe a couple of months. I think Vince and Ted Turner could not work together. Probably politics and B.S. I'm sure egos played a part, but the NWA fans were pissed. That hurt the WWF ratings wise and the rest is history.

[joepod]

Closer to a year actually. But yeah, I agree with aitraining, shutting off the *one* outlet I had to the NWA (short of a thousand mile drive to a house show) was a *major* bummer to thousands of *wrestling* fans.

[catdaddy2006]

It was just the opposite here in NC. We didn't really get the WWF on syndication at this point. They were about to go global though. NWA on WTBS , WWF on USA network. What an awesome time to be a wrestling fan!

[BILLY0624]

THE RING LOOKS SMALL

[richman2425]

Weird to see WWF on TBS. TBS is known to televise NWA/WCW.

[RichBoy773]

Wow!!!! They actually advertised Wrestlemania ON WTBS!!! Oh my! I was only 4 years old at the time, but wow. I mean really? Hmmm, who would've known?

[spenben]

such a negative response from nwa faithful tbs went back to nwa/ole anderson/crockett

[aitraining]

Yep. I am in NY and I was freaking. WWF was on every channel here and TBS was my only NWA outlet. I was pissed! Thankfully NWA found it's way back.

[herculeshernandez]

Mr. Kennedy has nothin' on the ring announcer- he did the WHOLE name twice, lol.

I must say this is awkward as hell- WWF and TBS were def. not a good match. I can watch old NWA matches in that arena, but not WWF matches.

[north5880]

It looks embarassing to watch the WWF footage on TBS from 1985. They were much better to see on Titan Sports' broadcasts. And opponents like Tracey Stohr were mauled against those big guys. They stopped having them right after Wrestlemania 1 ended.

[neoyamaneko]

Bundy was comparatively thin in those days. He looked more like he was around Umaga's size.

[larrystarstruck]

This was one of the most crimminal times in TV wrestling history. I couldn't go for it.

[Koolazzmike]

It looks funny seeing the WWF use all of the stuff that TBS used that was better known for the NWA.

[GhettoAttitude]

Thats the same set the NWA used from April 1985 until March 1989.

[chaldodon]

PLEASE POST MORE BLACK SATURDAY VIDS

[AxlCobainVedder]

Watching all those JCP shows on WWE 24/7, it's really weird to see Gorilla there instead of David Crockett and Tony Schiavone and WWF wrestlers instead of NWA wrestlers and it being very simular down to the music

[thedude19766]

is it Ironic that steamboat is in the WTBS studios until 89

[zaius316]

WWE produced about a month's worth of shows at the TBS studios, until they were strapped for cash after WM1, and doing the TBS show was too much of a resource strain. So they sold the rights to Jim Crockett for a quick $1 mil.

WWF put a bunch of ex-georgia stars (Bundy, Hart, Wrestling 2) on the show to get the local fans interested.

[DGarcia879]

and It didnt work cause fans were used to NWA style wrestling