Then, later on in the 80's, aside from WWF I did get to see various AWA telecasts. One saturday afternoon I was flipping through the channels and what did I land on? Why, it was the other "big one". Ric Flair territory, The N.W.A. (National Wrestling Alliance). After going through changes however, NWA was re-named WCW (World Championship Wrestling) and so aside from getting my weekly dose of WWF I was now getting hit with a double dose both from WWF and WCW on a weekly basis.
In 1993, WWF debuted their Monday Night Raw telecast on USA Network. At this time, all I remember was their show being called 'Prime Time Wrestling' which I was lucky enough to watch a few episodes of since my friend who lived across the street had satellite and she was nice enough to tape them for me.
In 1994, Toronto's flagship sports channel TSN (The Sports Network) jumped on the wrestling bandwagon. It was a Tuesday evening and I was seeing if there was anything good on TV when I came across WWF programming on TSN. What i couldnt believe was that it wasnt just any telecast. This was MONDAY NIGHT RAW this was THE show that was being seen all across the U.S.A. every monday night and now I got to watch it in Toronto. Of course, we've always been a hot wrestling city as we have a headquarters in Toronto. WWE Canada.
Then, In 1995, along came Ted Turner. Or 'Billionaire Ted' with his 'wrasslin' program. And so began the MONDAY NIGHT WARS. WWF VS WCW. VINCE MCMAHON VS TED TURNER.
While Ted knows a bit about wrestling, Vince McMahon grew up in the business. He eats, drinks, sleeps, and breathes wrestling. First it was boxing/wrestling promoter Jess McMahon who handed the business down to his son Vincent J. McMahon Sr. And that's where it all began.
The WWWF was born in the 1950's. However, we were decades away from the Hulk Hogans and Steve Austins and Triple H's. And WWWF wasn't even a title considered for the promotion at the time.
In the 1950's, Vince McMahon Sr. along with partner Toots Mondt ran 'Capitol Wrestling Federation' that produced such stars as Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow. The promotion folded in 1963 with a small roster.
In 1963, Vince McMahon Sr. re-vamped the promotion. His first decision. Re-name the promotion. He changed it from 'Capitol Wrestling Federation' to 'World Wide Wrestling Federation' (WWWF). His second move was to recruit some more superstars to be part of his roster and so began the WWWF era which would take us from 1963 through to the 70's. With names like Andre The Giant, Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund and even the late great Gorilla Monsoon
In 1982, Vincent McMahon Sr. passed his legacy down to his son Vince McMahon Jr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon, at the time, was the interviewer for Saturday afternoon telecasts. By this time, Vince dropped the 'Wide' from World Wide Wrestling Federation and shortened it to World Wrestling Federation.
Hulk Hogan was brought in by Vince McMahon and at first debuted as a heel alongside manager Freddie Blassie. He feuded with fan favourite Andre The Giant. At the time, Bob Backlund was the reigning World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion.
A year later, He faced The Iron Sheik on December 26, 1983. Manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel and Iron Sheik was the new WWF Champion.
