An old tradition about to be reborn: Georgia Championship Wrestling (1976)

 Up until 1982, I only knew one brand of pro wrestling, what we know today as the WWE. Eddie Einhorn, then the owner of the Chicago White Sox, had tried to make an inroad with the International Wrestling Association, whose International Championship Wrestling aired on WOR in NY in the mid-70's, but the promotion didn't survive the decade.

In February 1982, SuperStation WTBS (now TBS) made its debut in Troy, Albany, and other environs after debuting in rural areas. The crown jewel of Ted Turner's television empire, including CNN, which was not yet 2 years old at the time, was Georgia Championship Wrestling, which filled up to two hours on Saturday nights, often shrunken in half during baseball season in favor of Braves games.

Famed announcer Gordon Solie was at the mic for the action, and there was a reason why he was oft referred to as the "Walter Cronkite of professional wrestling", with his genial manner and honesty.

The Georgia program had started before TBS became a superstation, and adopted the title in 1976. After the infamous "Black Saturday" takeover by Vince McMahon, Georgia Championship Wrestling was supplanted by WWF reruns from their syndicated programs until the spring of 1985, during which time Ole Anderson landed a morning berth on TBS (previously discussed at Saturday Morning Archives), which lasted a year before the NWA reclaimed their Saturday evening berth under the new title, World Championship Wrestling. By then, of course, Solie was long gone, and would return to the NWA a few years later.

Solie was characterized in a comic book story starring Captain America, right around the time of this sample episode from 1982.

Why are we bringing this up? Because All Elite Wrestling is expanding their schedule, and will take possession of the legendary Saturday 6:05 pm (ET) berth later this year, reportedly in a 2 hour format, just like the old days, but without the frequent pre-emptions for baseball, since the Braves are now on another channel. Former WCW announcers Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone work for AEW today, and likely will appear on the new show.

Rating for Georgia Championship Wrestling: A.