Yesterday And Today: A Look At Some of the NWA/WCW’s Past

Brian Damage

Every fan has their own idea of when the “Golden Age” of professional wrestling was and or is. Some say the 70’s…others say the Rock N Wrestling era…some may even say the Monday Night Wars era. For me personally, it was the late 80’s when you could see the WWF one day…the NWA/WCW another day and turn to see the AWA or WCCW on ESPN. There was such a variety and it hardly disappointed me.

The National Wrestling Alliance in the 1980’s was at the top of my list of great wrestling promotions. It had stars like Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen, Ronnie Garvin, Dusty Rhodes, the Rock N Roll Express, the Midnight Express and so many more. Today we look at some things that made the NWA/WCW so special from back in the day. Things that just aren’t done or seen anymore. Great memories that are just that…memories.

NWA’s TV Tapings Inside A Television Studio

Before WCW was WCW..it was Jim Crockett Promotions sanctioned by the NWA. Their show on WTBS channel 17 was called World Championship Wrestling and the TV tapings weren’t held in a huge arena…but in a small, intimate TV studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It was usually hosted by Tony Schiavone and David Crockett. Years before, Georgia Championship Wrestling held their tapings here with Gordon Solie as host and a plethora of stars like Ole Anderson, the Freebirds, Tommy Rich etc.

Here’s the Techwood Drive TV Studio then and now…

For the NWA’s purposes, they started their tapings at this Turner TV studio on Techwood Drive in 1982…up until 1989…when Ted Turner purchased the promotion from Jim Crockett Jr. Turner would then move the tapings from the small studio to Center Stage also in Atlanta.

Here’s what Center Stage looked like then and now….

As for the announcers Tony Schiavone and David Crockett and what they are up to today….

Tony Schiavone is out of the wrasslin’ business and does play by play for the Atlanta Braves AAA minor league affiliate the Gwinnett Braves. He also does work with the University of Georgia Bulldogs football and basketball teams.

David Crockett is retired and also completely out of the wrestling business. Although, he will occasionally make appearances at conventions and award shows.

WCW’s Power Plant

Once upon a time, WCW had their own wrestling school back in the mid to late 1990’s. Some of the Power Plant graduates included Bill Goldberg, Diamond Dallas Page, CW Anderson, Mark Jindrak and Sean O’Haire.

The Power Plant closed in 2001 when WCW was sold to the WWE. So what happened to the actual facility located in Atlanta, Georgia? Well, the building is now split up between two tenants. One half is a night club and the other half is still a wrestling school. Although not affiliated with the WWE, it has produced such graduates as Heath Slater of the WWE and Sam Shaw of TNA.

Here is the former Power Plant then and now….

The Mall Of America

The Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota was the site of the very first Monday Nitro telecast. Today, the Mall still stands although WCW is no more…