The wrestling world mourns one of the most influential men in the history of the business. Ted Turner dies at the age of 87. Turner Broadcasting gave home to WCW Saturday Night and Thunder on TBS, while Monday Nitro kickstarted the Monday Night War on TNT. The media mogul owned WCW from 1988 until the Time Warner merger in 2001. This huge conglomerate essentially sold WCW off for pennies to WWE, creating the billion-dollar company that stands today. Ted Turner announced he had Lewy body dementia in 2018.
Ted Turner Dies: News Pioneer Passes Away
Ted Turner founded CNN in 1980. The cable channel became the first-ever 24/7 news channel.
Current Chairman and CEO of CNN, Mark Thompson, remembered the mogul fondly:
Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless, and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN.”
Over the years, CNN has become a standard-bearer in liberal-leaning news reporting. It’s usually seen as the counterpart to President Donald Trump.
Interestingly enough, Donald Trump’s good friend, Vince McMahon, used to paint Ted Turner as a bully. In fact, the former WWE Chairman even created skits depicting Ted Turner as “Billionaire Ted,” culminating in a WrestleMania XII Pre-Show showdown between The Huckster and The Nacho Man.
William Regal Remembers Ted Turner Fondly
While Ted Turner was born in Ohio, he grew up in Savannah, Georgia. The Georgia fanatic grew up watching Georgia Championship Wrestling. At the time, the regional promotion brought in millions of viewers weekly.
When Ted Turner decided to launch the Superstation, he found pro wrestling to be a cost-effective way to get high ratings and ad revenue. After Vince McMahon attempted to take over the airwaves on WTBS, Ted Turner took note of the backlash from fans. He found that they still wanted pro wrasslin’ rather than sports entertainment.
That’s why Ted Turner started WCW. The mogul purchased the near-bankrupt Jim Crockett Promotions to create an alternative for WWE. While he was mostly hands-off with the company, he did take an invested interest in WCW and their talent.
In fact, William Regal shared a heartwarming story about Ted Turner:
Ted Turner was a very philanthropic person. He supported many causes that preserved the environment and protected wildlife.