# @wrestlingnewsco on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DYAEEnsAOmC
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/65164890-wrestlingnewsco-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/e1bb413a23.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-05-06T14:43:44.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Wrestling News - WWE, AEW (@wrestlingnewsco) — https://gondola.cc/wrestlingnewsco

## Caption

Ted Turner, the Atlanta media mogul who founded CNN, owned World Championship Wrestling, and kept professional wrestling on his Superstation WTBS for nearly 30 straight years, has died at the age of 87.

For pro wrestling fans, Turner's most important decision came in 1970, when he bought Channel 17 in Atlanta and kept its Saturday wrestling programming on the schedule. By 1972, Georgia Championship Wrestling was running in a 6:05 p.m. Saturday block that became the most consistent home for pro wrestling on American TV for the next two decades.

Vince McMahon's "Black Saturday" attempt to push WWF programming onto WTBS in 1984 collapsed. Jim Crockett Promotions took the slot back. When Crockett ran into financial trouble, Turner Broadcasting bought the company outright in November 1988 for $9 million and rebranded it as World Championship Wrestling.
In 1995, Turner asked Eric Bischoff what WCW would need to compete with the WWF. Bischoff said prime time cable. Turner gave him Monday on TNT and the budget to chase WWF roster members. WCW Monday Nitro premiered on September 4, 1995. The New World Order storyline launched at WCW Bash at the Beach the following summer. Nitro defeated WWF Raw in head-to-head ratings for 83 consecutive weeks.

Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner in 1996. AOL Time Warner cancelled WCW programming in March 2001. Vince McMahon's WWF bought the WCW name and tape library within weeks. Pro wrestling on TBS came to an end after 29 years.
Outside wrestling, Turner founded CNN, won the 1977 America's Cup, was named Time magazine's Man of the Year in 1991, pledged $1 billion to the United Nations, owned the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks, and created the Captain Planet cartoon.

#TedTurner #WCW #MondayNightWars #BlackSaturday #WrestlingHistory

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## Tags

blacksaturday, wrestlinghistory, mondaynightwars, wcw, tedturner

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