In a fresh episode of his podcast “My World”, Jeff Jarrett gave his insight into the ascent of WWE in 1987 led by Vince McMahon.
Pause to peruse a few key points from the podcast:
On the territorial challenges during WWE’s 1987 spike: “What I was trying to convey is, it was a ‘North vs. South’ or more accurately a ‘WWE vs. everyone else’ scenario. This rivalry included Watts, Florida, and even unlikely territories like Montreal. Essentially all the southern territories like Florida, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Alabama along with Fullers, David Woods from our last session, going all the way to Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. We spur into an all-out North vs. South scrimmage.
“When Hulk Hogan along with Hall and Nash stormed the scene as the nWo, TV became the new battleground. It felt like WWF was invading WCW, truly testing the suspension of disbelief. The impact of this war permeated many layers of the wrestling world. Fans from all three generations didn’t simply disappear overnight. As Cornette posits, ‘They didn’t crawl into a cave. They just stopped tuning in.’ Tons of fans stayed in the shadows waiting, and the nWo movement was just the perfect storm.”
The pay-per-view perception in 1987 from rival promotions: “Over the period from ’86 to ’90, I spent countless hours in the wrestling office, picking up on one half of phone conversations. My father toyed with the idea of securing an ESPN slot or even taking over the AWA. He had multiple dialogues with Verne with some bankers pitching in to push the agenda. We will delve deeper into the Texas narrative in the later ’80s but an attempt was made at Pay-Per-View with SuperClash III that featured Lawler vs. Von Erich in ’88. It was clear that things did not pan out as expected with SuperClash.
“I particularly admired my father’s foresight in these ventures. McMahon’s key roster during the time was basically seasoned in various territories before he got his hands on them. Hogan, Savage and even Warrior had stints in different territories. My father was persistent in his belief that he could nurture talent. I still recall his regular overtures to Vince starting around ’88, ’89, ’90, offering to groom talent for the company. Although the proposal didn’t get an immediate nod, it led to the creation of a talent development territory. Observing the situation with Crockett and the SuperClash incident quickly made it clear that one could not simply compete with McMahon.”