WCW Pro

WCW Pro
Format	Professional wrestling
Created by	Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling
Starring	See World Championship Wrestling alumni
Country of origin	United States
Production
Camera setup	Multicamera setup
Running time	60 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndicated (1985 - 1994) TBS (1994 - 1998)
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original run	1985 – 1998

WCW Pro was a televised wrestling show presented by World Championship Wrestling. Along with WCW WorldWide, it was part of the WCW Disney tapings. The rights to WCW Pro now belong to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling

WCW Pro started off as Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling^[1][2], one of two official weekly syndicated wrestling programs presented by Jim Crockett Promotions (the other was World Wide Wrestling, which in its final form was named WCW WorldWide).

NWA Pro Wrestling/WCW Pro Wrestling

After the merger of JCP and Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1985, the show was renamed NWA Pro Wrestling. It was later renamed WCW Pro Wrestling sometime after Ted Turner bought JCP in 1988.

Around 1994, the show was removed from syndication and added to TBS on Saturday mornings in place of WCW's ill-fated WCW Power Hour.

New York and Chicago

In 1990, WCW Pro Wrestling was picked up by WPIX-TV in New York City and WGN-TV in Chicago. These two shows were localized versions of the show, with Tony Schiavone and veteran Chicago Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse hosting WGN's WCW Pro Chicago, while Jim Ross and Paul E. Dangerously hosted WPIX's WCW Pro New York. These local versions featured the same matches as the national version of the show, with local spots inserted. In mid 1991, the New York version moved to WCBS-TV where the show aired in a late-night Saturday slot. However, after only a few weeks, the show was replaced by WCW WorldWide, which stayed on WCBS for the next five years. WCW Pro Chicago was simulcast on WGN's national feed due to the show's localization getting past the syndication exclusivity law.

WPXN later picked up WCW Pro for its lineup, airing the show from 1996 until its cancellation.

WCW Pro

In the fall of 1995, WCW started taping WCW Pro at the Disney/MGM Studios (and later to Universal Studios Florida) as well. In 1996, the show moved to Sunday afternoons, where it remained until its cancellation in 1998, and had its name shortened to WCW Pro. Around the time of the move, WCW Pro became a weekly highlights and recap show with one or two exclusive matches a week. Scott Hudson and Larry Zbyszko hosted the in-studio segments while Lee Marshall and Mike Tenay called the matches.

In October 1998, WCW Pro was canceled. TBS would continue to air Thunder and Saturday Night.

References

1. ^ Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
2. ^ No one did that better than the syndicated NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling programs from the '70s and '80s, produced by Crockett Promotions out of Charlotte, North Carolina.