Seven Bucks To Produce ‘Who Killed WCW?’ Docuseries For Vice TV

Peter White
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: The rise and fall of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) is to be explored in a new docuseries for Vice TV.

Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, founders of Seven Bucks Productions, are exec producing Who Killed WCW?

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WCW was founded by Ted Turner in 1988 after his Turner Broadcasting System acquired the assets of National Wrestling Alliance territory Jim Crockett Productions. It competed aggressively with the then-titled WWF (now WWE), regularly beating it in the ratings on Monday nights where its Monday Nitro outrated Monday Night Raw. However, it endured significant losses and suffered from the merger between Turner parent Tim Warner and AOL and was shut down in 2001.

The series, which premieres on June 4, will explore the complex factors that led to the promotion’s downfall, including management challenges, creative decisions, and the intense competition during the infamous Monday Night Wars. It will feature exclusive, in-depth interviews with wrestlers, executives, and insiders and will shed light never seen before on the personal stories and struggles of those who lived through the rise and fall of WCW.

It is the latest wrestling docuseries produced by Johnson for Vice; he previously exec produced Tales from the Territories for the network.

Johnson and Garcia will exec produce alongside Hiram Garcia, and Brian Gewirtz for Seven Bucks alongside Vice TV’s Lee Hoffman, Evan Husney, and Jason Eisener. Danny Gabai, Guillermo Garcia, and Paul Taylor executive produce for Vice Studios. The series is produced by Vice Studios Canada in association with Bell Media’s Crave.

It comes a day after Deadline revealed a new structure for Vice’s production business, which sees Vice Studios Group run by Gabai and Jamie Hall as co-presidents.

“The iconic rise and fall of WCW is one of professional wrestling’s most captivating stories – full of big dreams, massive successes, painful failures, and the harsh realities of the pro wrestling business. With wrestling viewership and fan engagement at an ultimate high, there has never been a more perfect time to tell top-quality wrestling stories, and there’s no better one to start with than a one-of-a-kind, behind-the-scenes look at this epic saga, known as The Rise and Fall of WCW and personally, the rise of WCW, not the fall, inspired me greatly early in my career where I would eventually become, the Final Boss,” said Johnson.

“Diving into the saga of WCW is not just another project for us; it is an opportunity to highlight our talents as documentary storytellers in a world where we have historical credibility and knowledge: professional wrestling. This project allows us to build a bridge between the passionate global wrestling audience and those curious about an often-misunderstood industry, strengthened by our partnership with a dedicated storyteller in Vice TV,” added Garcia.

Peter Gaffney, interim president of Vice TV following the departure of Morgan Hertzan, added, “Vice TV has always been at the forefront of telling stories from which others shy away. We’re lucky to join forces again with Dwayne, Dany of the Seven Bucks team. We have unparalleled access to one of the great stories of modern professional wrestling, and we can’t wait for our audience to see it come to life.”

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