10 Times Backstage Politics Ruined WCW
1. Jamie Kellner Ends WCW Television
Above all else, it was a non-wrestling Turner executive who killed World Championship Wrestling off. The 'Fingerpoke Of Doom', Bash At The Beach 2000, David Arquette's World Title stuff and more definitely contributed, but WCW kept puffing along until one Jamie Kellner decided to immediately delete the group's television platform with one swish of his pen.
In March 2001, it was Kellner who decreed that Nitro and Thunder should be taken off TNT and TBS with instant effect. Overnight, the promotion wasn't really worth a whole heck of a lot to prospective buyers, and that shoved Eric Bischoff's plans right down the toilet. It also opened the door for Vince McMahon to purchase remnants of his own competition for a relatively small sum of around $2.5m.
To put that into perspective, WCW had been hauling in far in excess of that on nWo merchandise alone at one stage. Now, they were dead in the water without weekly television, and everyone knew it. Kellner was the guy who made that call when he was promoted to head of the Turner tree.
Even ol' Ted himself was powerless to stop Jamie from bringing the curtain down on wrestling across his network portfolio. In the end, it wasn't bad booking that finished the place off - it was a suit who didn't really look at pro wrestling with the same fondness as Ted Turner.
When else did backstage politicking wreck WCW? For more wrestling content, check out 40 Greatest Stories Wrestling Ever Told and WWE Money In The Bank 2026: 9 Things That NEED To Happen!