10 Most Controversial Wrestling Shows Of All Time
6. Survivor Series '87
In 1987, WWE was undoubtedly the number one wrestling business not just in North America, but on the planet. WrestleMania III had drawn a colossal 400,000 buys, with many viewers purchasing cable boxes just so they could catch Hulk Hogan's iconic showdown with Andre the Giant.
But the New York national wasn't for everybody. Some couldn't stand the razzmatazz of Vince's squared-circus, preferring the Southern-style of realistic 'rasslin', something substantiated when Georgia-based Jim Crockett Promotions' Starrcade '86 became the biggest selling wrestling VHS to date. As JCP's momentum built, they began to prepare their own national expansion, starting with a Starrcade pay-per-view for November '87.
Office desks were promptly tipped over in Stamford. McMahon, livid with Crockett's impertinence, announced the company's second annual PPV, Survivor Series, which would air directly opposite Starrcade. The PPV pie was all Vince's, and nobody else was allowed a slice.
Savvy cable companies got wind of the attempted sabotage, quickly negotiating with Crockett so that both shows could air back to back. That was the last straw for McMahon, who issued them with an ultimatum: show Starrcade, and you don't get WrestleMania. For most providers, binning off the WrestleMania revenue was commercial suicide, and they soon fell in line.
The petty attenuation continued, until the cable companies eventually got together and said enough's enough: either WWE and JCP played nice, or they'd cancel all their shows.