Jamie Kellner, The Man Who Cancelled WCW, Dies Aged 77

Jamie Kellner, the former Turner Broadcasting Chairman and CEO who was responsible for cancelling WCW, has passed away.

In early 2001, WCW was on its way off television and out of existence but a sale of the company to the Eric Bischoff-led Fusient Media had been announced in January. That sale was never finalised, however, and fell apart completely when Time Warner hired Jamie Kellner to replace Ted Turner as the new Chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting Systems in March.

Kellner essentially pulled pro wrestling off of TBS and TNT – something Ted Turner had been against – leaving Fusient with no outlet for the promotion and the deal fell apart. Vince McMahon swooped in to famously buy his competition and WCW went out of business for good.

Jamie Kellner Helped Launch FOX & WB

Jamie Kellner has now passed away on June 21st at the age of 77. During his career, he was part of the team that formed FOX Broadcasting Company and held the position of 20th Century FOX Television Chairman for seven years before moving on to help launch the WB Network in 1994.

WCW has been back in the news due to the documentary series ‘Who Killed WCW?’ airing with several of the stars of the company giving their take on why the company folded. Bret Hart caused a stir as he hit out at Golberg once again for the shocking kick that ended Hart’s career.