Here’s The Press Release WWF Issued When They Announced The Purchase Of WCW 15 Years Ago Today

It was 15 years ago today that the war between the WWF and WCW officially ended. On March 23, 2001 WWF announced that they had purchased the WCW brand and the wrestling world was changed forever.

A few days later on March 26, 2001 Shane McMahon would appear on the final episode of WCW Nitro to announce that he was the one that bought WCW and not Vince. As Shane made his announcement Raw and Nitro were simulcast on the same network for the first time ever. Shane’s announcement planted the seed for the highly criticized invasion storyline which kicked off a few months later.

The Monday Night Wars had a huge impact on the wrestling business and many fans consider that era to be the golden era of wrestling. WCW had a great run on Monday nights, but things are very different now. If you want to watch Nitro, you watch it on the WWE Network.

WWF’s purchase of WCW was historic to say the least and this is press release they issued to announce the acquisition:

“STAMFORD, Conn., March 23, 2001 – World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWF) today announced its purchase of the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) brand from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS Inc.), a division of AOL Time Warner.

The purchase of WCW creates a tag team partnership with the World Wrestling Federation brand that is expected to propel the sports entertainment genre to new heights.

In keeping with the company’s strategic alliance with Viacom, new WCW programming is anticipated to air on TNN in the near future. The possibility of cross-brand storylines and intrigue, however, may start as early as Monday night during WWF Raw Is War on TNN and the final performance of WCW Monday Nitro Live on Turner Network Television (TNT).

The binding agreement provides World Wrestling Federation Entertainment with the global rights to the WCW brand, tape library, and other intellectual property rights.

“This acquisition is the perfect creative and business catalyst for our company,” said Linda McMahon, Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. “This is a dream combination for fans of sports entertainment. The incendiary mix of World Wrestling Federation and WCW personalities potentially creates intriguing storylines that will attract a larger fan base to the benefit of our advertisers and business partners, and propel sports entertainment to new heights.”

“The acquisition of the WCW brand is a strategic move for us,” said Stuart Snyder, President and Chief Operating Officer for World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. “We are assuming a brand with global distribution and recognition. We are adding thousands of hours to our tape library that can be repurposed for home videos, television, Internet streaming, and broadband applications. The WCW opens new opportunities for growth in our Pay Per View, live events, and consumer products divisions, as well as the opportunity to develop new television programming using new stars. We also will create additional advertising and sponsorship opportunities. In short, it is a perfect fit.”