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While wrestling fans and journalists have speculated at the idea of the Walt Disney Company buying WWE sometime in the future, that would not be Disney's first time being involved with the wrestling world. In the 1990s, WWE's main rival, WCW, would begin taping shows on Walt Disney World property. While fans may remember episodes of Monday Night Nitro taking place from the Most Magical Place on Earth, those were not the only shows taped by WCW at Disney World. The two companies worked together for years, with WCW using the studio facilities within Disney's MGM/Hollywood Studios Theme Park to produce a number of syndicated shows during their tenure.

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It Was Eric Bischoff's Idea For WCW To Work With Disney

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In 1993, World Championship Wrestling began taping in-ring footage for their syndicated television shows at the Disney's MGM Studios. The lineup of WCW shows taped on property included WCW WorldWide, WCW Pro, and WCW Prime. The idea behind working with Disney's studios to do this came from Eric Bischoff who had recently become one of the heads of WCW. The idea was to break out from the old school Southern arenas that WCW had been sticking to for years, in order to move to a more modern arena, with bigger production value. One aspect of the changed production that fans remember to this day was the ring being placed on top of a rotating platform, leading to an interesting look.

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With footage for the shows being taped months in advance, the shows often exposed bookings and storylines well in advance, which led to the company having wrestlers appear with championships or gimmick changes before they would happen on TV. With the internet taking off in the 1990s, this also led to spoilers coming out from these shows, as fans would be able to post on wrestling boards or share news with Dirt Sheet outlets. This was a huge deal at the time, as it broke kayfabe and ultimately led to WCW departing from the National Wrestling Alliance in September 1993. WCW continued taping shows at Disney from 1993 until 1997, with Hulk Hogan's signing with the company taking place from within the theme park. Also noteworthy was the fact that tapings mostly consisted of tourists, who were given free tickets to the show and merch to wear, while being instructed by producers as to who to cheer and boo for.

WCW Even Aired Nitro Outside In Front Of Disney Attractions

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While WCW continued running their typical syndicated shows from Disney's MGM Studios theme park in Orlando, things would get even bigger during the summer of 1996. Wanting to create a big look, WCW broadcasted Monday Night Nitro from directly in front of the theme park, with the entrance in the background and the iconic Tower of Terror attraction looming over the set. It remains an iconic look for Nitro, and one of the coolest locations for wrestling to ever be shot at. While this would only be a temporary location for WCW Monday Nitro, the company remained locked in with Disney through 1996, though their deal ended the following year as WCW would take their syndicated tapings elsewhere.

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WCW Eventually Moved To Universal Studios Orlando

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After a longtime relationship between WCW and Disney would come to an end in 1997, the wrestling company would have to look elsewhere to tape their syndicated programming, and thankfully, another hybrid theme park/television and movies studio appeared as an option in the Orlando area. In 1997, WCW made their debut at Universal Studios, continuing to tape WCW Worldwide, WCW Pro, and WCW Prime, now within one of the soundstages on the Universal Studios Orlando property. As the direct competition for Walt Disney World, this would be a big move in the theme park space, though WCW's decline also began just a year later.

In 1998, after dominating Raw in the ratings, Monday Night Raw defeated Nitro and things would never be the same. In 1998, the company turned their syndicated shows into mainly recap shows, though a few original matches were featured, which would still be taped at Universal Studios. WCW then left Universal, and merged the syndicated shows into WCW Thunder, bringing an end to their theme park days. It would set the stage for TNA/Impact Wrestling to bring the Impact Zone to life at Universal Studios years later, and then for AEW to tape AEW Dark from the same location, leaving somewhat of a legacy behind.