On October 14, 1986, NWA star Magnum T.A. was driving home from a show in Charlotte, North Carolina when his Porsche 911 hydroplaned in heavy rain and struck a telephone pole. The crash shattered his C-4 and C-5 vertebrae. Doctors doubted he would ever walk again. He was 27 years old. Magnum had been the NWA’s answer to Hulk Hogan. He was weeks away from being handed the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair. Merchandising plans had already been drafted. Jim Crockett Promotions had built their entire future around him and, in the words of Magnum himself, “There was no plan B.” He never wrestled again. Historians have argued the loss of Magnum T.A. was the beginning of the end for Jim Crockett Promotions, which was sold to Ted Turner three years later and became WCW. #NWA #Wrestling #RetroWrestling #MagnumTA #RicFlair