Former WCW Owner Ted Turner Passes Away at Age 87

Ted Turner, the media powerhouse who founded CNN and helped transform professional wrestling into a national phenomenon, has died at the age of 87.

In 2018, Turner revealed that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder. In early 2025, Turner was hospitalized with a mild case of pneumonia before recovering at a rehabilitation facility.

His passing was confirmed on May 6, 2026, with CNN reporting the news through a Turner Enterprises release. Turner’s influence stretched far beyond news and television — but in wrestling, his impact changed everything. CNN Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson reflected on what Turner meant to the company and the industry he helped build. He added that Turner’s presence still defines CNN today.

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN… he is the giant on whose shoulders we stand.”

Long before wrestling became a global billion-dollar business, Turner saw it as valuable television content. Through his Atlanta station WTBS — later the TBS Superstation — he gave wrestling national exposure at a time when it was still largely regional. That decision helped bring promotions like Georgia Championship Wrestling into living rooms across the country and set the stage for everything that followed.

One of the most pivotal moments came during the Black Saturday incident, when Vince McMahon briefly took over the TBS wrestling slot. The move didn’t connect with the audience Turner had built, and it ultimately pushed him to go all-in on wrestling himself.

In 1988, Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions and created World Championship Wrestling. That move kept a national competitor alive and gave wrestling something it desperately needed at the time: real competition.

Turner’s biggest gamble came in 1995 with the launch of WCW Monday Nitro, going head-to-head with WWE programming. Backed by Turner’s resources, WCW signed top stars like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall — turning the company into a powerhouse.

That era became known as the Monday Night Wars, with WCW dominating the ratings for 83 straight weeks and helping push wrestling into mainstream culture at a level it had never reached before. Turner’s networks — TBS and TNT — became the home of wrestling for millions of viewers, and his willingness to invest in the product reshaped how the business operated, from guaranteed contracts to large-scale production.

Everything shifted after the AOL-Time Warner merger, when Turner lost influence within the company. Without his backing, WCW lost its place on Turner networks and was eventually sold to WWE in 2001, bringing that era to an end.

Even with WCW gone, Turner’s impact never faded. He helped nationalize wrestling television, funded its biggest boom period, and forced the industry to evolve through competition. Bottom line, Ted Turner didn’t just change television — he changed wrestling forever, and the industry still reflects his vision decades later.

Do you think wrestling would have reached the same level without Ted Turner’s influence, or was he the key figure behind its biggest boom? Let us know your thoughts.