The End Is the Beginning - acquisition of World Championship Wrestling by World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc - Brief Article

Wrestling Digest, August, 2001 by Steve Anderson

The WWF is viewing its acquisition of the rival WCW with "absolute excitement"

IT WAS A STORY THAT WAS NEVER supposed to happen. It failed to at first, but then shockingly happened quickly and without much warning.

"A few months ago, when it became pretty clear at that time that WCW may be available for purchase, we had very serious talks with WCW and actually went down a path of negotiation," recalled WWF Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon in a March 23 press conference announcing the sale of WCW to the WWF. "But our arrangement with Viacom at that particular time made that deal not be one that we could execute the way we thought we could."

The likelihood of a wrestling monopoly quickly ended with the termination of negotiations between the two companies. Fusient Media Ventures Inc., with Eric Bischoff leading the charge, quickly moved in to assume ownership. They struck a preliminary deal with AOL Time Warner on January 11, 2001, to purchase WCW.

Seemingly, the ink was not dry on the agreement before problems arose. Rumors of the sale unraveling began to swirl and, within a few months, Fusient was out. Re-enter the WWF with a new opportunity. But this time around, the parameters of a purchase changed dramatically in the federation's favor. On March 16, AOL Time Warner canceled WCW programming on the same day that the company announced a hiatus.

"Clearly, for the second time around, if we were going to engage in these conversations again, it was with the clear understanding that this programming would come off the Turner network, so that we would be free to do with it what we felt was best for the brand and our company," WWFE president and chief operating officer Stuart Snyder said at the March 23 press conference. "It was much easier to conclude the deal by having the program off the Turner networks and be free for us to air on the Viacom properties."

With the battle lines of war erased, fans were split between elation that WCW would survive beyond the Time Warner empire and fear that the WWF would just absorb WCW and never allow it to function as a separate promotion. Was art imitating life when McMahon announced that WCW would be "put on the shelf" at the March 26 simulcast of "RAW" and "Nitro?"

"A brand that has been built for this many years and does have global recognition is something of great value to us. We would not want to fold it and put it into a drawer. That was not the intent of this purchase," Linda McMahon vowed.

The WWF finally realized its longtime goal of total domination in the sports entertainment industry. Vince McMahon changed the industry forever on that fateful day of March 23 when WCW became a WWF property. While the WWF effectively vanquished its rival, the competitive fire of the sports entertainment empire continues to burn brightly.

"Having the opportunity with a new tape library, with a new infusion of stars, with the potential for intriguing, cross-brand storylines between the WWF and WCW, I think does nothing but raise the specter of the potential of what we can now do having these two very rival brands under one umbrella," said Linda McMahon. "I think it's just the opposite of complacency. It's an absolute excitement to go forward now with the opportunities that we would have with this organization."

For the time being, WCW will survive and function as a separate company apart from the WWF. The storylines already focus on Vince battling Shane McMahon, the new "WCW owner," over sports entertainment supremacy. The federation will cultivate its former competitor and create a revolutionary dynamic never seen before, according to Linda McMahon. As of press time, the WWF had not announced when the new WCW would start taping and airing shows.

"It's an opportunity for the WWF to acquire a globally recognized brand, certainly in the genre that we understand how to create stars, to promote, and to develop this business opportunity," Linda McMahon said.