10 Secret Conversations That Changed Wrestling History Forever

4. Jamie Kellner Cancels WCW Programming

Vince McMahon WCW Nitro
WWE

It wasn't Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff or even Ted Turner who made the biggest call in WCW's history though - it was a television executive nobody had even heard of. Jamie Kellner was the one who decided that company programming would no longer air on Turner's own networks in 2001.

Without TV, the company was effectively defunct.

Kellner's move opened the door for Vince McMahon to purchase the remnants of a promotion that had once kicked his ass all over the United States. For the paltry sum of $2.5 million, McMahon received WCW's tape library, numerous trademarks and over 20 talent contracts he could use to bolster the ranks on his own shows.

A random board meeting amongst Turner top brass altered the course of wrestling history for good. WCW didn't mean much to Kellner or his associates (it arguably never did), and they were sick and tired of the money pit it had become. So, they put a pen through it and moved on.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.