James Herd (born March 24, 1939) is a former television production executive, Pizza Hut manager, and professional wrestling executive. Herd was the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1988 to 1992 following Turner Broadcasting's acquisition of the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988. However, his tenure received much criticism from wrestlers and fans alike.

Early life and career

Before beginning his role in WCW, Herd had been a station manager for the St. Louis TV station KPLR-TV,[1][2] which broadcast the then-popular wrestling show Wrestling at the Chase. Later on, he served as a regional manager for Pizza Hut.[1]

World Championship Wrestling

Herd was hired as Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling in 1988, through his connections and friendship with Turner executive Jack Petrik. His tenure officially began on January 3, 1989.

Criticism

Many wrestling personalities, fans, and workers have openly criticized Herd for his lack of knowledge of pro wrestling, lack of respect for established wrestlers, and complete unwillingness to learn or listen to anyone who knew what they were doing. Ric Flair in particular stated that Herd "knew nothing about wrestling, other than the fact that the station he ran had a hot show".[3] During his run in WCW, Herd tried to compete with Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation by introducing the same kind of gimmicks that were a part of McMahon's WWF at the time, alienating the diehard NWA audience. For example, he once tried to come up with a tag team called The Hunchbacks (with the gimmick in which they could not be pinned because their humps would prevent their shoulders from touching the mats) and after that idea was rejected by the booking committee he came up with the bell-wearing team, The Ding Dongs (portrayed by The Rock n Roll Rebels).[4] After that, he came up with Big Josh, a lumberjack who was accompanied by dancing bears. Stan Hansen left the organization to return to All Japan Pro Wrestling after the idea was pitched to him to become a part of the comedic cowboy stable called The Desperados. Jim Cornette wanted the Midnight Express to become part of the Four Horsemen, which would give the established team a boost, but he and Stan Lane also left the organization in October 1990, breaking up the Midnight Express and leaving Bobby Eaton on his own, after Herd would blame his many failures on Cornette and others. Even The Road Warriors, as Animal has stated on WWE Home Video's Road Warriors DVD, had a fallout with Herd as well and resigned from WCW in June 1990. Herd also tried to talk down, as if to a child, to Shane Douglas about the difference in ratings between WCW and the WWF, saying, "You probably won't understand this, since you're only a wrestler." Herd got angry when Douglas, a man with two master's degrees in education, explained it back and showed Herd how little he truly knew about where they were against the WWF. Herd tried to bury Douglas into jobber status, which prompted Douglas to reach out to the WWF.

Feud with Ric Flair

Herd regularly clashed with the then NWA World Heavyweight Champion and booking committee member Ric Flair. According to Flair, Herd wanted him to drop his entire "Nature Boy" persona, cut his signature bleached blond hair, and adopt a Roman gladiator gimmick by the name of Spartacus[5] in order to "change with the times". This did not sit well with Flair and the committee (committee member Kevin Sullivan was quoted as saying: "While we're doing this, why don't we go to Yankee Stadium and change Babe Ruth's number?").[6] Herd believed Flair's time was over as a main event player and the big money was with Sting and Lex Luger. This backstage feud hit its breaking point when during contract renegotiation Flair refused to take a pay cut[5] and he moved away from the main event position as he was by far the company's biggest draw. He also refused to drop the title to Luger as Herd wanted, saying that he had promised to drop it to Sting and Herd had previously agreed. Herd did not care what he had said earlier and accused Flair of holding up the company, but Flair said he was simply holding Herd to his word. Flair tried to compromise with Herd and offered to drop the title to fellow Horsemen Barry Windham, feeling that Windham had long been passed over and deserved a run with the title.[7] However, as Flair was planning to leave to wrestle Windham so he could lose the title, on July 1, 1991, two weeks before the Great American Bash, Herd fired Flair from WCW and stripped him of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. However, Flair was still in possession of the physical championship belt.[5]

Flair brings the belt to WWF's TV programs

Upon notification, Flair called Vince McMahon of the rival World Wrestling Federation to inform him of the situation. McMahon offered Flair a deal with the WWF in exchange for him sending McMahon the belt and Flair obliged. A couple of weeks later, promos were being shown of Bobby Heenan with Flair's belt on WWF television.[5] NWA and WCW officials expressed frustration at Herd's actions and amidst loud "We Want Flair!" chants at WCW events during this period made a final attempt to save face by offering Flair substantially more money to return, but their efforts failed.

Legacy and aftermath

The matter with Flair caused a lawsuit between the two companies, but eventually the lawsuit was dropped. In the 2008 WWE DVD Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection, Flair said he kept the "Big Gold Belt" because he was never paid back his $25,000 initial deposit for the NWA title, plus interest, which totaled $38,000. Herd resigned from WCW on January 8, 1992,[8] and was replaced by Kip Allen Frey. Flair returned to WCW in February 1993.

References

  1. 1 2 Sullivan, Kevin (2010). The WWE Championship: A Look Back at the Rich History of the WWE Championship. Gallery Books. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-4391-9244-3.
  2. ↑ Flair, Ric (2004). Ric Flair: To Be the Man. Pocket Books. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-7434-5691-3.
  3. ↑ The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection (DVD). WWE Home Video. 2003.
  4. ↑ RD Reynolds; Randy Baer (2010). Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1550225846.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Reynolds, R.D.; Alvarez, Bryan (2004). The Death of WCW. ECW Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-1-55022-661-4.
  6. ↑ Flair, Ric (2004). Ric Flair: To Be the Man. Pocket Books. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-7434-5691-3.
  7. ↑ Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection (DVD). WWE Home Video. 2008.
  8. ↑ Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 359–360. ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3.
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