Dark Side Of The Ring Explains How Magnum T.A.'s Accident Led To WCW's Formation

Dark Side of the Ring season four marched on this week with an episode covering the life and career of Magnum T.A. Younger fans may not be familiar with Magnum even though for a short period in the 1980s, most considered him to be the NWA's answer to Hulk Hogan. A horrific car accident put a stop to that, ending Magnum's in-ring career in the blink of an eye.

Magnum's Plans To Retire

Magnum survived the accident and even spoke extensively on this week's episode. His plan was to win the World Title by 27, something he was on track to do, and retire by 30 so he could become a professional NASCAR driver. Magnum couldn't imagine wrestling into his mid 30s, arguably the age at which pro wrestlers peak 35 years later.

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The NWA had plans in place to make Magnum World Champion at the time of his accident. They naturally had to rebook on the fly, but without the man they had put everything behind for months beforehand, it was extremely difficult to pivot. So difficult that Jim Crockett made a deal with Ted Turner. A deal that would eventually lead to the formation of WCW.

Would WCW Have Happened Without Magnum's Accident?

In fact, David Crockett, Jim's son, believes had Magnum not been in a car accident, that deal would have never happened. It's obviously difficult to know how things would have panned out had Magnum continued to wrestle, but it's also easy to see why those who were close to the situation at the time wonder “what if” and believe had Magnum become the top guy as planned, the NWA wouldn't have struggled and working with Turner, and forming WCW, wouldn't have been necessary.

The Dark Side episode also noted the hospital where Magnum was being treated recevied more than 8,000 phone calls from concerned fans after the news broke. That alone is evidence enough of just how important he was to the NWA and fan interest in the brand. Without Magnum, many fans may have stopped watching, and that drop in numbers led to the WCW pieces falling into place. Had all of that not happened, the wrestling business may well look very different today.