Late 1983 saw the business morph into what we see it today. Cable television was beginning to dawn, pay per view was in it's infancy, and two promoters in particular began a duel to the death with their promotions. Crocket vs. McMahon, NWA vs. WWF.
McMahon had a huge advantage with being in a large market like New York, the hub of most cable networks. The promise of merchandising and wide scale exposure lured many of the biggest stars from the territory era to sign exlcusive deals with McMahon and his WWF. However, the Crocketts had name value and legacy to their credit. The NWA was an established product for over 30 years.
This would later morph into Ted Turner buying out Jim Crockett and creating WCW to directly compete with Vince McMahon. The NWA/WWF war soon evolved into the hypercompetitve Monday Night Wars. This saw direct competition on the same night at the same time for the better part of 6 years.
In the end, one company would stand tall, and the Era of WWE dominance was born. This is to discuss everything and anything in between. Now I picked Summerslam 2002 as the end date of this era and teh beginning of the current Era for a few reasons.
Austin, Rock, and Hogan, all huge names of the era, were out the door at this point. Austin had a bitch fest and walked out, Hogan passed the torch to the Rock, and the Rock handed it to Brock Lesnar. When a rookie is handed the torch, you know the business is changing. Also, the Undisputed Championship was split into two championships once again. This Brand Exclusiveness highlights the power of the WWE and it's ability to have two world champions in their company.
McMahon had a huge advantage with being in a large market like New York, the hub of most cable networks. The promise of merchandising and wide scale exposure lured many of the biggest stars from the territory era to sign exlcusive deals with McMahon and his WWF. However, the Crocketts had name value and legacy to their credit. The NWA was an established product for over 30 years.
This would later morph into Ted Turner buying out Jim Crockett and creating WCW to directly compete with Vince McMahon. The NWA/WWF war soon evolved into the hypercompetitve Monday Night Wars. This saw direct competition on the same night at the same time for the better part of 6 years.
In the end, one company would stand tall, and the Era of WWE dominance was born. This is to discuss everything and anything in between. Now I picked Summerslam 2002 as the end date of this era and teh beginning of the current Era for a few reasons.
Austin, Rock, and Hogan, all huge names of the era, were out the door at this point. Austin had a bitch fest and walked out, Hogan passed the torch to the Rock, and the Rock handed it to Brock Lesnar. When a rookie is handed the torch, you know the business is changing. Also, the Undisputed Championship was split into two championships once again. This Brand Exclusiveness highlights the power of the WWE and it's ability to have two world champions in their company.