Inside The Ropes is saddened to report on the passing of wrestling legend Jim Crockett Jr aged 76.
Crockett Jr. is well known for his role as a key promoter in the Mid-Atlantic wrestling scene during the ’70s and ’80s and in 1980 was appointed as NWA President, a role he would return to two further times in 1985 and 1987.
His impact on the wrestling world can still be seen on major television to this day with Crockett Jr. taking over Crockett Promotions in the mid 1970’s and signing names that would go onto to have monumental impacts on the global wrestling scene such as Ric Flair in 1974.
In late 1988, Jim Crockett Jr. would sell his organisation [Jim Crockett Promotions] to media tycoon Ted Turner who would go on to rename the acquired organisation the Universal Wrestling Corporation before renaming it once again, this time to much more well known World Championship Wrestling – WCW.
“Jim Crockett Promotions was the birth of WCW…Had there not been a Jim Crockett Promotions there would not have been a WCW. There would not have been a Nitro, there would not have been a Monday Night Wars. There would not be, in my estimation, a WWE as we know it today.”
“My life would be completely different today. I don’t know where I would’ve been…but it’s like a spider web…when you follow that web it all goes back to the centre…and the web of WCW, in my opinion, the success of WWE, the product that you see today, the success of AEW on TNT, all of that goes back to the centre of that web which was Jim Crockett Promotions.”
There has been an outpouring of support on social media from fans and wrestlers alike with names such as Lance Storm, Frankie Kazarian and Brian Heffron offering their support to the family of Crockett Jr.
Inside The Ropes sends our deepest condolences to his friends and family at this time.