In the history of pro wrestling, no talent raid has been more influential or important than Vince McMahon's sustained poaching of territorial talent in the 1980s. It transformed his father's company from a regional promotion into a national powerhouse, and made the business more of a monopoly than it had ever been before. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, McMahon outlined his business strategy back in those days, stating:
'In the old days, there were wrestling fiefdoms all over the country, each with its own little lord in charge. Each little lord respected the rights of his neighboring little lord. No takeovers or raids were allowed. There were maybe 30 of these tiny kingdoms in the U.S. and if I hadn't bought out my dad, there would still be 30 of them, fragmented and struggling. I, of course, had no allegiance to those little lords.'
The most influential of his early signings were Georgia Championship Wrestling's Roddy Piper and The Iron Sheikh, American Wrestling Association's Jesse Ventura, and - of course - Hulk Hogan. Again poached from AWA, Hogan had already gained mainstream popularity due to his appearance in Rocky III (as overblown wrestling cliche 'Thunderlips'). These acquisitions allowed McMahon to gain a national TV deal, and the rest - as they say - is history.
